THE 


Holy  Man  of  Santa  Clara 

OR 

Life,  Virtues,  and  Miracles 

OF 

FR.  MAGIN  CATALA,  O.  F.  M. 

BY 

FR.  ZEPHYRIN  ENGELHARDT,  O.  F.  M. 


Author  of 
"The  Franciscans   in   California," 

"The   Franciscans   in  Arizona," 
"The   Missions   and   Missionaries." 


"It  was  not  what  we  read  of  the 
saints  that  made  them  saints;  it  was 
what  we  do  not  read  of  them 
that  enabled  them  to  be  what  we 
wonder  at  while  we  read."  (Fr.  F.  W. 
Faber,  "Growth  in  Holiness,"  p.  303.) 


SAN    FRANCISCO,  CAL. 

THE  JAMES   H.  BARRY  COMPANY 

1  9O9 


Nihtl 


FR.    THEOPHILUS    RICHARDT,     O.    F.    M., 

Sacr.   Theol.   Lector 

Censor  deputalus 


Nthtl 


FR.     CONRADINUS    WALLBRAUN,     O.     F.     M., 

Sacr.   Theol.  Lector 

Censor  deputatus 


Imprimi  JJrrmttlilijr 

FR.  CYPRIANUS  BANSCHEID,  O.  F.  M., 

Minister    Provincialis 


imprimatur 


»J(  PATRITIUS  GULIELMUS  RIORDAN, 

Archiepiscopus  Sancti  Francisci,   Cal. 

Die   28   Junii,    1909 


Copyright,  1909, 

By 
ZEPHYRIN  ENGELHARDT. 


To 

Aretttz, 


Commissary    Provincial 

of  the 
Franciscans  on   the   Pacific   Coast 


PREFACE 

It  is  with  much  diffidence  that  the  author 
offers  this  little  volume  to  the  reading  public. 
There  is  vastly  more  in  the  life  of  a  saint  than 
appears  on  the  surface.  In  order  that  it  re- 
ceive just  treatment  it  should  be  written  by  a 
saint.  Gladly  would  the  author  have  left  the 
task  to  a  worthier  pen,  but  obedience  decreed 
otherwise.  He,  therefore,  decided  to  take 
purely  historical  ground,  and  herewith  pre- 
sents the  facts  obtained  through  long  and  criti- 
cal research.  He  believes  that  this  course  will 
after  all  best  serve  the  cause  of  Fr.  Magin 
Catala.  May  the  holy  servant  of  God  forgive 
what  was  written  amiss. 

In  compliance  with  the  Decree  of  Pope  Ur- 
ban VIII. ,  the  author  hereby  declares  that  he 
claims  only  human  belief  for  the  miracles,  rev- 
elations, graces,  and  other  incidents  attributed 
to  Fr.  Magin  Catala;  that  the  terms  holy, 
saintly,  and  similar  expressions,  as  applied  to 
the  servant  of  God,  are  employed  in  a  wider 
sense,  and  not  in  the  sense  bestowed  upon  the 
servants  of  God  already  canonized  by  the  Holy 
Roman  Church ;  that  he  professes  himself  an 
obedient  son  of  the  same  Holy  Roman  Church  ; 
and  that  he  reverently  submits  to  her  decision 
whatever  he  has  written  in  this  book. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PART  I. 
LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

California. — Discovery  of  Gold. — The  Missions  and 
Missionaries. — Fr.  Magin  Catala's  Birth,  Baptism, 
Parents. — Enters  the  Franciscan  Order. 

EVER  since  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Northern 
California,  men  of  almost  every  nation 
under  the  sun  flocked  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  Some 
braved  the  hardships  of  the  deserts  and  the 
cruelties  of  the  savages  by  making  their  way 
through  the  country  afoot,  on  horseback,  or  in 
wagons  of  every  description ;  others  took  passage 
on  the  Atlantic  Coast  to  cross  the  continent  at  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  or  sailed  around  Cape  Horn 
to  reach  the  Golden  Gate.  All  came  animated 
with  the  one  desire  of  improving  their  temporal 
fortunes.  The  country  was  new  to  them  and  to 
the  world  at  large,  yet  it  was  not  a  new  country. 
Others  had  preceded  the  fortune-hunters.  It 
had  been  discovered  three  hundred  years  before 
the  little  town  at  the  entrance  of  the  famous  bay 
changed  its  Spanish  name  Yerba  Buena  to  that 
of  the  glorious  Saint  of  Assisi.  Carmelite  friars, 
accompanying  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  had  celebrated 
the  Holy  Sacrifice  on  the  shores  of  Monterey 
Bay  in  December,  1602.  Eighty  years  before  the 
region  of  the  Sacramento  began  to  surrender  its 
metallic  treasures,  Franciscan  friars,  vowed  to 
poverty  and  to  contempt  for  that  same  metal, 
had  commenced  Christianizing  the  degraded  na- 


12 


tives  of  the  coast  and  were  developing  a  system 
of  civilization  which  has  since  forced  the  admira- 
tion of  the  shrewdest  statesmen  as  well  as  the  ap- 
probation of  the  most  sentimental  humanitarians, 
and  has  afforded  an  inexhaustible  theme  for  the 
bard  as  well  as  the  traveler. 

The  period  of  eighty  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  arrival  of  the  gold-diggers  marks  the 
golden  age  of  the  California  natives.  During 
this  time,  through  the  combined  efforts  of  the 
voluntarily  poor  Catholic  friars  and  the  naturally 
poor  Indians,  twenty-one  missionary  establish- 
ments arose  and  dotted  the  coast  region  from  San 
Diego  to  Sonoma.  One  hundred  and  forty-six 
Franciscan  priests,  without  any  worldly  compen- 
sation whatsoever,  there  devoted  themselves  to 
the  arduous  task  of  raising  the  savages  to  the 
plane  of  Christian  manhood  and  womanhood. 
Nearly  one-half  of  this  faithful  band  of  apostolic 
laborers  fell  at  their  post  among  their  dusky 
wards  as  victims  of  Catholic  zeal  for  the  salva- 
tion of  immortal  souls. 

Among  those  that  volunteered  for  this  life  of 
hardship  and  self-denial  in  the  missions  of  Cali- 
fornia Fr.  Magin  Catala  stands  conspicuous  for 
zeal,  sanctity,  and  an  uncommonly  long  term  of 
missionary  activity  in  one  place.  This  servant  of 
God  was  born  on  the  29th  or  the  30th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1761,  at  Montblanch,  in  the  province  of 
Catalonia  and  the  archdiocese  of  Tarragona, 


FACHADA    OF    THE    CHURCH    AT    MONTBLANCH. 


13 


Spain.  His  parents,  Matias  Catala,  a  notary,  and 
Francisca  Catala  y  Guasch,  were  exemplary 
Christians.  An  uncle  was  a  secular  priest  and 
beneficiary  of  the  church  at  Montblanch.  In 
baptism,  which  was  administered  on  Saturday, 
January  31st,  by  the  Rev.  Jose  Montanez  y 
Murtra,  parish  priest  of  St.  Mary  Major  at 
Montblanch,  the  child  received  the  names  Ma- 
gin,*  Jose,  Matias.  The  sponsors  were  Raimundo 
and  Josef  a  Catala.  On  August  7th,  1767,  when 
little  more  than  six  years  of  age,  Magin  received 
the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  in  the  same  par- 
ish church  at  the  hands  of  the  Most  Rev.  Juan 
Lario  Lanzis,  Archbishop  of  Tarragona.  This  is 
all  we  know  of  Fr.  Magin's  childhood. 

Matias  and  Francisca  Catala  must  have  trained 
their  child  in  the  path  of  virtue ;  for,  at  the  early 
age  of  sixteen  years,  Magin  sought  refuge  from 
the  allurements  of  the  world  in  the  Order  of 
Friars  Minor  by  taking  the  habit  of  St.  Francis 
at  the  monastery  of  Barcelona  on  April  4th,  1777. 
One  year  later  he  pronounced  the  vows  of  obedi- 
ence, chastity,  and  poverty,  without  taking  an- 
other name  on  that  occasion  as  is  customary  in 
Spanish  countries.  When  he  had  finished  the 
usual  classical  and  higher  studies,  the  young 
cleric  was  elevated  to  the  priesthood,  probably 
in  the  year  1785.  Neither  the  date  nor  the  year 


*  Vide    Appendix  A. 


14 


could  be  ascertained  from  the  archives  of  the 
Spanish  monastery,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  re- 
ligious houses  in  Spain  have  at  different  times 
been  subjected  to  the  rapacity  of  unscrupulous 
politicians,  who  under  one  pretext  or  another 
despoiled  the  convents  of  their  archives  and 
libraries  as  well  as  of  everything  else  that  ap- 
peared valuable. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Dearth  of  Missionaries. — Fr.  Magin  Goes  to  America. 
— Vandalism  of  the  Liberal  Politicians. — Chap- 
lain on  the  Nootka  Ship. — Arrives  at  Monterey. 
— Reaches  Santa  Clara. 

AT  the  period  when  Fr.  Magin  became  priest 
there  was  much  need  of  apostolic  laborers 
in  the  missions  of  the  Friars  Minor  in  America. 
After  the  unjust  and  cruel  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits 
from  the  Spanish  dominions,  the  government  had 
directed  the  Franciscans  to  take  charge  of  the  de- 
serted establishments.  Though  already  employed 
to  the  limit  of  their  numbers  among  the  Indians 
of  New  Mexico,  Florida,  Texas,  and  many  parts 
of  Mexico,  they  accepted  the  trust  with  all  its 
hardships,  and  sent  their  religious  into  Lower 
California,  Sinaloa,  Sonora,  and  Arizona.  Later 
the  missions  of  Upper  California  were  founded. 
This  increased  the  sore  need  of  more  missionaries. 
Frequent  appeals  were  sent  to  the  friars  in  Spain 
to  come  to  the  assistance  of  their  brethren  in 
America,  and  there  were  always  found  those  that 
expressed  willingness  to  sacrifice  their  beloved 
solitude  for  the  privilege  of  toiling  in  the  vine- 
yard of  the  Lord.  Life  in  the  Indian  missions  at 
its  best  was  wearisome  and  full  of  trials.  Gen- 
erally it  taxed  virtue  as  well  as  mind  and  body, 
and  martyrdom  could  be  expected  even  in  Cali- 
fornia. Nevertheless  a  great  many  religious  vol- 


16 


unteered.  From  among  these  the  most  suitable 
and  most  solidly  virtuous  were  selected  to  join 
their  brethren  in  the  Western  Hemisphere ;  for, 
while  no  one,  as  St.  Francis  himself  had  com- 
manded, could  be  sent  out  who  in  the  opinion  of 
the  superiors  seemed  unsuitable,  no  one  was  to 
be  refused  permission  whose  piety  and  fitness  ap- 
peared evident. 

Among  the  friars  whom  zeal  for  immortal  souls 
prompted  to  apply  for  the  American  missions  in 
1786  were  Fathers  Jose  de  la  Cruz  Espi  and 
Magin  Catala,  the  latter  but  recently  ordained. 
After  receiving  the  blessing  of  the  Fr.  Guardian 
and  the  embrace  of  their  brethren,  both  sailed 
from  Cadiz  in  October,  1786.  As  soon  as  they 
reached  the  City  of  Mexico,  probably  at  the  close 
of  the  year,  they  were  incorporated  into  the  mis- 
sionary college  or  Franciscan  seminary  of  San 
Fernando,  which  institution  trained  and  sup- 
plied the  apostolic  men  that  spent  their  lives  in 
the  midst  of  the  California  natives.  Whilst  Fr. 
Jose  Espi  was  at  once  sent  as  chaplain  with  a 
ship  in  the  Pacific  ocean,  Fr.  Magin  Catala,  it 
seems,  was  employed  in  the  seminary  or  in 
preaching  missions  to  the  Mexicans.  At  all 
events,  we  read  nothing  about  him  until  six  years 
later,  and  the  reason  is  the  same  that  prevents  us 
from  obtaining  particulars  regarding  the  early 
youth  of  the  servant  of  God.  As  in  Portugal, 
Spain,  Italy  and  France,  so  also  in  Mexico  the 


17 


monasteries  and  convents,  raised  and  furnished 
through  the  abstemiousness  of  their  inmates,  at 
different  periods  were  looted  or  confiscated  by 
the  respective  anti-Christian  governments  that 
succeeded  one  another.  Some  officials,  not  satis- 
fied with  plundering  the  homes  of  peace,  prayer, 
and  charity,  wantonly  destroyed  what  they  could 
not  utilize.  Thus  in  1864  the  rabid  Juarez  faction 
made  bonfires  of  the  archives  of  the  famous  San 
Fernando  College,  so  that  there  are  no  records 
left  to  enlighten  us  with  regard  to  the  life  of  Fr. 
Magin  in  Mexico. 

Fortunately  the  Archives  of  Santa  Barbara, 
California,  contain  a  letter  addressed  by  Fr.  Fran- 
cisco Pangua,  the  guardian  of  San  Fernando  Col- 
lege, to  Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de  Lasuen,  the  su- 
perior of  the  California  missions,  which  gives 
some  information  about  Fr.  Magin's  coming  to 
the  Pacific  Coast.  It  seems  that  the  servant  of 
God  urged  his  superiors  to  permit  him  to  labor 
for  the  conversion  of  the  savages,  that  his  peti- 
tion was  at  last  granted,  and  that  the  Fr.  Guard- 
ian only  waited  for  an  opportunity  to  transfer 
the  zealous  volunteer  to  California.  The  oppor- 
tunity arrived  in  1793. 

At  this  period  Spanish  vessels  plied  between 
Mexico  and  the  great  Northwest  Coast  as  far  as 
Nootka  Sound  on  the  western  shore  of  what  is 
now  Vancouver  Island,  in  forty-nine  and  one-half 
degrees  north.  This  bay  had  been  discovered  in 


18 


the  forepart  of  August,  1774,  by  Captain  Juan 
Perez,  who  had  sailed  from  Monterey  on  June 
llth,  accompanied  by  the  Franciscans  Fr.  Juan 
Crespi  and  Fr.  Tomas  de  la  Pefia.  Spain,  there- 
fore, claimed  the  territory  by  right  of  discovery, 
and  Spanish  ships  frequently  visited  Nootka 
Sound  until  the  king  abandoned  the  region  in 
1794.  The  Spanish  government  generally  in- 
sisted that  chaplains  should  accompany  the  sailors 
on  these  voyages.  Religious  Orders  were  un- 
willing to  furnish  priests  for  such  expeditions, 
because  this  kind  of  employment  was  foreign  to 
their  objects  and  hazardous  for  the  spiritual  well- 
being  of  the  individual  religious.  When  secular 
priests,  however,  could  not  be  secured,  the  gov- 
ernment called  upon  some  religious  community 
which  then  found  it  advisable  to  yield.  Such  a 
demand  brought  Fr.  Magin  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 
In  his  communication  Fr.  Guardian  Francisco 
Pangua  under  date  of  November  21st,  1792, 
notified  Fr.  Lasuen  that  two  religious  would 
soon  set  out  for  California,  Fr.  Jose  de  la 
Cruz  Espi,  a  native  of  Valencia,  who  in  years 
past  had  acted  as  chaplain  on  an  expedition  to 
Nootka,  and  Fr.  Magin  Catala.  The  Fr.  Guard- 
ian made  the  additional  remark  that  both  were 
good  and  peaceful  laborers.  The  two  Fathers, 
it  seems,  arrived  at  Monterey  in  July,  1793. 
While  Fr.  Espi  was  at  once  assigned  to  Mission 
San  Antonio,  Fr.  Magin,  after  an  understanding 


19 


with  the  Fr.  Presidente  and  in  compliance  with 
the  directions  of  the  Fr.  Guardian,  accompanied 
the  crew  of  the  frig-ate  Aranzazu  to  Nootka 
Sound.  The  vessel  was  in  charge  of  Cap- 
tain Juan  Kendrick.  Of  the  movements  of  the 
vessel  we  could  discover  nothing  until  June 
the  following  year.  On  the  fifteenth  of  that 
month,  1794,  Don  Ramon  A.  Saavedra  wrote 
from  Nootka  to  Governor  Jose  Joaquin  Arril- 
laga  of  California,  that  "the  Rev.  Fr.  Magin 
Catala,  who  accompanies  the  frigate  Aranzazu 
as  chaplain,  has  orders  to  remain  at  one  of  the 
missions  of  California.  Your  Honor  will  there- 
fore please  take  the  necessary  steps  that  the 
crew  of  that  vessel  be  not  without  spiritual  care 
and  that,  with  the  consent  of  the  Fr. 
Presidente,  one  of  the  missionaries  who  are  re- 
tiring to  the  motherhouse  be  appointed,  or  that 
Fr.  Catala  himself  be  bound  to  continue  the  voy- 
age as  chaplain." 

When  on  July  2d,  1794,  trie  Aranzazu  reached 
Monterey,  Fr.  Magin  declined  to  act  as  chaplain 
any  longer,  inasmuch  as  he  had  been  destined  for 
the  missions  among  the  Indians.  It  appears  that 
the  governor  requested  him  to  make  another  voy- 
age to  Nootka.  In  reply  the  servant  of  God  on 
July  12th,  1794,  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
Arrillaga : 

"Dear  Governor :  In  response  to  what  you  say 
in  your  letter  of  yesterday,  I  must  inform  you 


20 


that  to  my  deep  regret  I  am  not  able  to  comply 
with  your  request  asking  me  to  continue  as  chap- 
lain of  the  frigate  Aranzazii  on  her  voyage  to 
Nootka,  as  the  captain  of  that  ship  desires ;  for, 
apart  from  the  hardships  of  the  voyages  to  that 
port  where  I  spent  thirteen  months  in  the  midst 
of  no  small  difficulties,  I  have  in  the  present  cir- 
cumstances the  weighty  reason  that  I  must  con- 
sider myself  one  of  the  missionaries  of  this  New 
California,  for  which  task  I  have  been  designated. 
In  virtue  of  this  appointment  I  can  in  no  manner 
dispose  of  my  person  without  previous  orders 
from  the  Fr.  Presidente  of  these  missions,  whose 
subject  I  am. 

"Notwithstanding  all  I  have  said  just  now,  I 
am  desirous,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  of  con- 
tributing to  the  relief  of  the  necessity  which  Your 
Honor  has  explained  to  me.  I  have  wished  to 
show  how  much  I  am  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  souls.  When  I  therefore  learned  that  the  Rev. 
Fr.  Presidente  agreed  to  comply  with  the  order 
of  Don  Ramon  Saavedra,  commander  of  the  es- 
tablishment at  Nootka,  to  the  extent  that  the  Rev. 
Chaplain  of  the  frigate  Concepcion  should  go  on 
board  the  Aranzazu,  and  that  his  place  should  be 
filled  by  one  of  the  missionaries  about  to  retire  to 
Mexico,  I  have  taken  it  upon  myself  to  urge  the 
Rev.  Fr.  Bartholome  Gili  (who  had  expressed  his 
willingness  to  me  of  complying  with  the  orders  of 
Saavedra),  to  gladly  exercise  the  duties  of  chap- 


21 


lain  on  the  frigate  Concepcion,  although  he  has 
been  informed  that  he  would  have,  to  make  the 
voyage  as  far  as  Acapulco,  and  from  there  back 
to  San  Bias.  I  send  Your  Honor  this  informa- 
tion to  the  end  that,  if  it  pleases  you,  you  might 
communicate  it  to  the  commander  of  the  Aran- 
zazu,  and  advise  me  of  your  good  pleasure." 

The  difficulty  was  amicably  settled  in  accord- 
ance with  Fr.  Magin's  proposition.  The  Rev. 
Jose  Gomez,  a  secular  priest,  who  had  come  up 
from  Mexico  as  chaplain  in  the  Concepcion, 
took  the  place  of  the  servant  of  God  in  the  Aran- 
zazu,  which  was  to  return  to  Nootka,  and  Fr. 
Bartholome  Gili,  one  of  the  Fathers  retiring  to 
Mexico,  on  account  of  ill-health,  filled  Rev.  Jose 
Gomez's  place  on  the  Concepcion  when  she  sailed 
for  Mexico. 

Whether  Fr.  Magin  at  once  traveled  to  Santa 
Clara  from  Monterey  by  land  or  took  ship  for 
San  Francisco  and  thence  made  his  way  to  his 
destination,  is  not  clear.  Certain  it  is  that,  as  the 
mission  records  show,  he  baptized  a  child  at  Mis- 
sion Dolores,  San  Francisco,  on  August  25th,  and 
that  he  officiated  there  at  burials  on  August  20th 
and  30th,  1794.  His  name  appears  for  the  first 
time  in  the  baptismal  record  of  Santa  Clara  on 
Monday,  September  1st,  1794,  when  he  baptized 
a  boy  infant  who  holds  number  2510  in  the  regis- 
ter. That  many  had  been  received  into  the 


22 


Church  of  God  there  since  January  12th,  1777, 
when  Fr.  Junipero  Serra  founded  the  mission. 

From  that  day  on  Fr.  Magin  labored  zealously 
and  without  interruption  at  Santa  Clara  for 
thirty-six  years.  Nor  did  he  leave  the  boundaries 
of  the  mission  except  a  few  times  in  the  first  years 
of  his  ministry.  He  was  present  at  the  founding 
of  Mission  San  Juan  Bautista  on  June  24th, 
1797,  and  on  that  occasion  Fr.  Lasuen  took  him 
along  to  San  Carlos.  This  was  the  only  time,  as 
far  as  the  records  show,  that  he  ever  saw  the 
headquarters  of  the  California  missions  after  his 
arrival  at  Santa  Clara.  Though  the  lands  of 
Mission  San  Jose  adjoined  those  of  his  own  mis- 
sion, Fr.  Magin  seems  to  have  made  but  five 
visits  there,  and  then  only  for  the  purpose  of  as- 
sisting the  Fathers  in  administering  baptism  to 
the  multitude  of  converts  that  applied  for  admis- 
sion. After  1798  until  his  death,  a  period  of 
thirty-two  years,  the  holy  man,  as  far  as  we 
know,  never  went  beyond  the  limits  of  Mission 
Santa  Clara,  save  for  the  purpose  of  winning 
converts  among  the  pagans  as  far  as  the  San 
Joaquin  River. 


CHAPTER  III. 

State  of  the  Mission. — Fr.  Magin's  Love  of  His 
Rules. — His  Mortification. — His  Illness. — Asks 
to  be  Retired. — His  Zeal. — Local  Difficulties. — 
Dullness  of  the  Indians. — Statistics. 

WHEN  Fr.  Magin  arrived  at  Santa  Clara  he 
was  made  assistant  to  Fr.  Francisco  Mi- 
guel Sanchez,  along  with  Fr.  Manuel  Fernandez, 
and  from  August,  1796,  with  Fr.  Jose  Viader, 
until  Fr.  Sanchez  departed  for  San  Gabriel  in 
October,  1797.  Thereafter  his  only  companion 
for  thirty-three  years  was  Fr.  Viader.  The  In- 
dian population  of  the  mission  in  1794  consisted 
of  fourteen  hundred  souls.  The  livestock  num- 
bered 4200  head  of  cattle,  1000  sheep,  628  horses, 
and  sixteen  mules.  The  harvest  during  that  year 
amounted  to  3300  bushels  of  wheat,  1100  bushels 
of  corn,  95  bushels  of  beans,  26  bushels  of  len- 
tils, etc.  Twenty-four  cattle  were  slaughtered 
every  Saturday  to  furnish  meat  for  the  members 
of  the  Indian  community.  The  converts  and 
catechumens  were  employed  in  the  fields,  among 
the  livestock,  and  at  various  kinds  of  mechanical 
labor.  There  were  rooms  in  one  part  of  the  mis- 
sion buildings  for  spinning  wool,  for  weaving 
cloth,  making  clothes,  shoes,  candles  and  soap. 
In  other  parts  carpenters,  blacksmiths,  saddlers, 
tanners,  etc.,  plied  their  trade.  Thus,  for  in- 
stance, in  1792  as  many  as  2000  hides  were 


24 


tanned.  Almost  everything  used  or  consumed  by 
the  Indians  and  Fathers  was  produced  or  manu- 
factured by  the  natives  under  the  supervision  of 
the  missionaries. 

Though  the  constant  solicitude  for  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  welfare  of  the  Indians,  learning  the 
language,  preaching,  instructing,  administering 
the  sacraments,  visiting  the  sick,  searching  for 
converts  in  the  mountains  and  plains,  and  bearing 
patiently  with  the  dullness  and  rudeness  of  his 
wards,  taken  altogether  required  a  spirit  of  self- 
sacrifice,  Fr.  Magin  continued  to  observe  the 
Rules  of  his  Order  and  of  his  missionary  college 
in  every  particular.  To  the  prescribed  fasts  and 
abstinences  and  other  penitential  practices  he 
added  other  austerities  and  long  hours  of  prayer 
and  contemplation.  Very  soon  he  contracted 
chronic  inflammatory  rheumatism,  which  afflicted 
him  throughout  his  missionary  life.  At  times  his 
maladies  hampered  his  work  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  felt  in  duty  bound  to  ask  to  be  retired 
as  one  unfit  for  the  arduous  task.  Under  the 
rules  issued  by  the  Spanish  kings,  a  religious  that 
volunteered  for  the  Indian  missions  had  to  serve 
laudably  at  least  ten  years,  or  until  he  was  dis- 
abled, before  he  could  retire  with  the  permission 
of  the  superior  and  the  consent  of  the  governor. 
The  time  of  service  was  computed  from  the  day 
of  incorporation  into  the  missionary  college.  Fr. 
Magin,  having  served  more  than  ten  years  in 


25 


America,  though  only  six  years  in  California,  in 
1800  applied  for  a  permit  on  the  ground  of  con- 
tinuous ill-health.  Fr.  Lasuen,  the  Presidente  or 
superior,  granted  the  request.  Whether  his 
health  somewhat  improved,  or  whether  some  other 
potent  consideration  moved  him  to  postpone  his 
departure,  we  do  not  know ;  at  all  events  he  did 
not  avail  himself  of  the  license  to  retire.  Four 
years  later,  having  completed  the  ten  years'  ser- 
vice in  California,  and  being  withal  more  broken 
in  health  than  ever,  he  again  asked  permission 
to  leave  for  the  mother  college  in  Mexico.  Fr. 
Estevan  Tapis,  the  superior  of  the  missions,  re- 
luctantly granted  the  request ;  but  once  more  the 
zealous  man  allowed  himself  to  be  persuaded,  and 
then  resolved,  come  what  might,  to  sacrifice  him- 
self for  the  good  of  his  dusky  wards,  and  to  con- 
tinue suffering  for  them,  if  perchance  he  should 
not  be  able  to  do  more. 

Thus  it  was  that  Fr.  Magin  limped  along  for 
twenty-six  years  more,  bereft  of  all  comforts  or 
conveniences.  In  addition  he  mortified  his  poor, 
ailing  body  by  various  means  which  only  a  most 
penitential  spirit  could  suggest.  From  a  letter 
of  his  companion,  Fr.  Jose  Viader,  dated  April 
6th,  1812,  and  addressed  to  Fr.  Presidente  Tapis, 
we  learn  that  another  malady  afflicted  Fr.  Magin. 
"I  am  well,"  he  writes,  "but  Fr.  Magin  is  troubled 
with  catarrh,  though  it  is  nothing  alarming, 
thanks  be  to  God.  He  is  in  bed  He  is 


26 


infirm  and  disabled."  Though  his  afflictions  in- 
creased with  the  years,  the  venerable  Father 
would  insist  on  preaching  to  the  people  and  visit- 
ing the  sick.  During  the  last  four  years  of  his 
life  he  found  it  impossible  to  administer  baptism 
or  attend  funerals,  as  he  could  not  stand  on  his 
feet.  Hence  it  is  that  no  baptisms  were  entered  in 
the  records  by  him  after  October  27th,  1827.  Fr. 
Viader  had  managed  the  temporal  affairs  for 
many  years,  though  not  without  consulting  his 
senior  companion,  as  he  states  in  a  letter  to  the 
governor ;  after  October,  1827,  he  alone  had  also 
to  administer  the  sacraments.  Though  Fr.  Magin 
could  neither  walk  nor  stand  in  the  last  two  years 
of  his  life,  he  would  instruct  the  Indians  and 
preach  to  the  people  in  general.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  would  sit  before  the  Communion  railing 
in  the  sanctuary,  and  from  there  address  the 
faithful  in  his  usual  forcible  and  fervent  manner. 
He  appeared  so  weak  at  times  that  the  audience 
would  shed  tears  of  sympathy  for  their  pastor. 
More  frequently,  however,  they  were  moved  to 
tears  by  his  vivid  descriptions  of  the  truths  of 
religion. 

The  flock  of  Fathers  Magin  and  Viader  con- 
sisted of  the  Santa  Clara  Mission  Indians  and  of 
the  settlers  of  San  Jose,  three  miles  distant. 
After  1804  the  town  of  San  Jose  had  a  chapel  of 
its  own.  On  Sundays  and  holydays  of  obliga- 
tion one  of  the  two  Fathers  had  therefore  to  cele- 


27 


brate  holy  Mass  among  the  settlers.  However, 
the  main  work  of  the  missionaries  lay  among  the 
natives.  The  management  of  the  California  In- 
dians was  fraught  with  peculiar  difficulties,  as  we 
can  see  from  a  report  which  Fathers  Catala  and 
Viader  drew  up  in  reply  to  a  number  of  ques- 
tions forwarded  by  the  viceroy  in  1814.  The 
Fathers  explained  that  three  Indian  languages 
were  spoken  at  Mission  Santa  Clara ;  two  of 
these  were  similar  to  each  other,  but  the  third 
was  altogether  different  from  the  other  two. 
There  was  no  inclination  on  the  part  of  the 
natives  to  learn  reading  or  writing,  wherefore 
both  arts  were  taught  to  those  only  that  showed 
any  desire  and  capacity  for  them.  The  virtues 
especially  noticeable  among  the  Indians  were  love 
for  their  relatives,  submissiveness,  and  modesty 
in  dress  among  the  women.  Their  vices,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  lying,  stealing,  gambling,  dan- 
cing, immoralities,  and  infant  murder  or  race- 
suicide.  Superstitions  also  prevailed,  inasmuch 
as  offerings  were  made  to  demons  and  sorcerers 
were  consulted. 

The  existence  of  vices  and  superstitions  among 
the  neophytes  must  have  been  a  source  of  much 
grief  especially  to  good  Fr.  Magin.  Hence  we 
need  not  wonder  to  find  him  so  insistent  on  teach- 
ing the  truths  of  religion  to  the  carnal,  ignorant, 
and  stolid  natives.  He  also  insisted  that  all  re- 
ceive the  Sacraments  at  least  during  Easter  time ; 


28 


yet  with  all  his  fatherly  solicitude,  and  despite 
the  simplicity  and  clearness  of  his  instructions, 
not  even  he  could  overcome  the  dullness  of  the 
poor  Indians  with  regard  to  some  mysteries  of 
faith,  as  for  instance  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
Comparatively  few  grasped  the  significance  of 
this  center  of  Catholic  worship.  For  this  reason 
all  missionaries  spoke  of  the  California  Indians 
in  terms  of  pity,  calling  them  Los  Pobres,  or  Los 
Miserables.  Nevertheless,  Fr.  Magin  seemed  to 
take  special  delight  in  sitting  among  a  number 
of  these  poor  natives  and  explaining  the  several 
points  of  faith,  the  keeping  of  the  Commandments 
of  God  and  the  Church,  what  reward  was  in  store 
for  the  good  and  what  punishment  awaited  the 
wicked. 

According  to  the  records  of  the  mission,  during 
the  thirty-six  years  of  Fr.  Magin's  administra- 
tion five  thousand  persons  were  baptized,  of  whom 
comparatively  few  were  white  people.  For  in- 
stance, of  the  1628  persons  baptized  at  Santa 
Clara  from  1777  to  1803,  only  sixty-one  are 
classed  as  Spaniards.  For  the  same  period  of 
thirty-six  years  the  records  show  1905  marriages 
and  5200  burials.  Outside  the  Indian  commu- 
nity settled  around  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara 
there  were  ten  Indian  rancherias  which  lay  scat- 
tered over  the  valley. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Fr.  Magin's  Inner  Life. — Shadows  of  Mission  De- 
struction.— The  Mexican  Government  Demands 
Oath  of  Allegiance. — Fr.  Magin's  Reply. — His 
Last  Years. — His  Precious  Death. — Grief  of  the 
People. — Burial. — Fr.  Jose  Viader's  Entry  In 
the  Records  of  Santa  Clara. 

FROM  the  records  and  reports  still  extant  we 
can  glean  very  little  or  nothing  concerning 
Fr.  Magin's  private  or  inner  life.  This  portion 
of  our  narrative  will,  however,  be  treated  on  the 
testimony  of  eye-witnesses  in  Part  II.  The  serv- 
ant of  God  wrote  no  letters.  He  devoted  himself 
solely  to  instructing  the  Indians  and  to  watch- 
ing over  their  moral  conduct.  Fr.  Jose  Viader 
attended  to  all  temporal  affairs,  and  wrote  all 
official  reports  and  communications.  Fr.  Magin 
would  merely  countersign  the  papers  after  ascer- 
taining their  contents.  There  are  a  great  many 
letters  in  the  Archives  of  the  Archbishop  of  San 
Francisco,  in  the  Archives  of  Mission  Santa 
Barbara,  and  some  in  the  Archives  of  the  City  of 
San  Jose  written  by  Fr.  Magin's  companion,  but 
not  one  from  the  hand  of  Fr.  Catala.  Nor  does 
Fr.  Viader  say  anything  about  his  venerable 
friend,  save  that  he  occasionally  remarks  that 
Fr.  Magin  is  ill  or  sends  regards.  Not  till  he  had 
the  sad  duty  of  entering  the  death  of  the  servant 
of  God  in  the  burial  record,  did  Fr.  Jose  Viader 


30 


express  himself  regarding  the  virtues  of  his 
brother  in  religion.  Even  then,  as  we  shall  see 
presently,  he  said  very  little ;  yet  no  one  could 
have  drawn  a  clearer  picture  of  Fr.  Mag'm  than 
his  associate  in  the  same  house  and  work  for 
nearly  a  generation. 

Fr.  Magin  was  spared  the  pain  of  having  to 
witness  the  ultimate  ruin  of  the  mission,  which 
was  brought  about  by  the  confiscation  of  the  Cali- 
fornia missionary  establishments  through  the  so- 
called  Act  of  Secularization  of  1834;  but  the 
shadows  of  that  most  unfortunate  event  had  been 
gathering  about  the  unhappy  neophytes  ever  since 
the  arrival  in  1826  of  the  first  Mexican  governor, 
Jose  M.  Echeandia.  From  his  first  appearance 
in  Lower  California  this  official  showed  himself 
an  enemy  to  the  religious  as  missionaries  and 
managers  of  mission  temporalities.  He  was  the 
chief  cause  of  the  insubordination  of  the  Indians 
and  of  the  disregard  displayed  by  the  colonists 
and  the  soldiers  towards  the  friars  in  charge  of 
the  missions. 

On  October  4th,  1824,  the  new  government  of 
Mexico  adopted  the  so-called  Acta  Constitutiva  y 
Constitucion  Federal,  and  decreed  that  all  male 
inhabitants  should  swear  allegiance  to  Mexico 
and  to  this  Constitucion  Federal.  The  mission- 
aries were  at  liberty  to  act  as  they  thought  proper. 
Being  Spaniards,  most  of  the  Fathers  declared 
that  they  judged  it  wrong  to  take  the  required 


31 


oath  until  the  king  of  Spain  should  acknowledge 
the  sovereignty  of  Mexico.  The  two  Fathers 
Catala  and  Viader  held  this  opinion.  When, 
therefore,  Governor  Echeandia  in  June,  1826, 
published  the  edict  in  California,  and  Com- 
mandante  Ignacio  Martinez  of  the  San  Francisco 
Presidio,  to  whose  military  jurisdiction  Santa 
Clara  belonged,  demanded  that  each  missionary 
should  swear  allegiance  to  the  Constitution 
framed  in  Mexico,  Fr.  Magin  on  July  6th  replied 
as  follows  :  "To  your  communication  of  the  28th 
of  last  month,  in  which  General  Jose  Maria 
Echeandia  demands  in  writing  my  formal  decision 
concerning  the  oath  to  observe  the  Acta  Consti- 
tutiva  y  Constitucion  Federal  of  the  United 
Mexican  States,  I  reply  that  I  cannot,  and  con- 
sequently will  not,  take  said  oath.  In  the  thirty- 
three  years  which  I  have  passed  in  this  mission 
I  have  never  meddled  with  politics,  and  if  now 
they  want  to  distrust  me,  who  burdened  with  the 
age  of  sixty-six  years  and  infirmities  hopes  or 
believes  to  be  near  his  end,  I  swear  to  observe 
fidelity  and  obedience  to  the  government  and 
appointed  authorities.  God  keep  Your  Honor 
many  years,  which  Your  Honor's  very  true  chap- 
lain wishes  you.  Fr.  Magin  Catala." 

Thereupon  the  good  Father  and  his  worthy 
companion  were  allowed  to  continue  eschewing 
politics  and  to  attend  to  their  missionary  duties 
as  of  yore.  It  was  the  first  and  last  time  that  the 


32 


servant  of  God  came  into  conflict  with  the  gov- 
ernment. 

The  last  two  years  of  his  life  were  a  period  of 
intense  sufferings  to  Fr.  Magin.  As  early  as 
February,  1830,  he  was  thought  to  be  in  a  dying 
condition,  for  Fr.  Vincente  de  Sarria  from  Sole- 
dad  reported  to  the  governor  that  the  senior  mis- 
sionary of  Santa  Clara  was  about  to  receive  or 
had  received  Extreme  Unction.  The  holy  man 
rallied,  however,  and  lingered  on,  preaching  every 
Sunday  and  holyday  and  giving  the  usual  in- 
structions until  within  a  day  of  his  death,  nine 
months  later.  He  could  not  celebrate  holy  Mass, 
but  frequently  received  holy  Communion  with 
the  greatest  fervor.  Finally  on  Monday,  No- 
vember 22nd,  1830,  at  daybreak,  the  servant  of 
God  quietly  passed  to  his  eternal  reward  in  the 
presence  of  Fr.  Jose  Viader  and  two  men  who 
at  his  request  had  watched  with  him  through  the 
night. 

When  the  tolling  of  the  bells  announced  the 
death  of  Fr.  Magin,  immense  crowds  of  people 
hastened  to  the  mission  from  every  quarter  in 
order  to  venerate  the  body  of  the  holy  missionary. 
Every  one  wept  as  at  the  death  of  a  father  or 
a  mother.  The  remains  were  placed  in  an  ordi- 
nary coffin  made  of  redwood,  borne  to  the  church 
amid  the  sobs  of  the  inconsolable  multitude,  and 
placed  on  a  bier  in  front  of  the  sanctuary.  In- 
side and  outside  the  building  surging  crowds  of 


33 


Indians  and  Spaniards  wept  and  lamented.  Noth- 
ing could  be  heard  above  the  expressions  of  grief 
but  the  exclamation,  "The  saint  has  left  us."  The 
most  vehement  sorrow  prevailed  among  the  neo- 
phytes of  the  mission  to  whom  the  deceased  had 
been  a  father,  nurse,  protector,  teacher,  and  pro- 
vider in  every  need. 

On  the  following  morning,  November  23d,  a 
Requiem  High  Mass  was  to  be  offered  up  for 
the  soul  of  the  holy  man,  though  every  one  felt 
that  the  soul  of  Fr.  Magin  had  not  gone  to  pur- 
gatory at  all,  but  that  it  was  then  enjoying  heav- 
enly bliss.  Fr.  Narciso  Duran  of  Mission  San 
Jose,  it  appears,  was  to  be  the  celebrant  of  the 
Requiem  Mass ;  but  there  was  no  Requiem  High 
Mass.  Whether  or  not  Fr.  Duran  had  been  mis- 
informed, or  whatever  the  reason  was,  when  he 
arrived  at  Santa  Clara  he  had  broken  the  fast, 
so  that  he  could  not  celebrate.  The  usual  funeral 
ceremonies  were  performed,  however,  and  then 
Fr.  Duran  preached  the  sermon  for  his  departed 
friend.  He  could  scarcely  overcome  his  emotion, 
and  the  tears  streamed  unchecked  down  his 
cheeks.  When  he  could  make  himself  understood 
above  the  sobs  of  the  grief-stricken  people,  Fr. 
Duran  told  his  hearers  to  remember  the  teach- 
ings, counsels,  and  the  good  example  which  they 
had  received  from  the  holy  priest,  and  to  carry 
out  what  they  had  learned  from  Fr.  Magin  so 


34 


that  they  might  deserve  to  share  his  company 
among  the  blessed  in  heaven. 

Preparations  were  then  made  to  inter  the  re- 
mains of  the  dead  missionary  in  the  grave  opened 
for  them  just  outside  the  railing  on  the  Gospel 
side  of  the  church.  The  crush  of  the  people, 
however,  was  frightful.  The  Indians  loudly  pro- 
tested against  the  burial  of  their  Father.  Every- 
body rushed  to  the  bier  to  obtain  some  relic  or 
memento.  With  knives  and  scissors  the  throng 
went  to  work  cutting  pieces  from  the  habit  until 
the  body  was  almost  nude.  Nor  could  the  two 
Fathers  prevent  the  pious  vandalism.  Another 
habit  was  procured,  but  after  awhile  nothing  was 
left  but  shreds.  Not  content  with  this,  one  man 
took  from  the  hands  of  the  dead  priest  the  cru- 
cifix which  during  life  Fr.  Magin  had  generally 
worn  on  his  breast.  Others  appropriated  the  san- 
dals. Soldier  guards  were  called  into  the 
church,  and  Fr.  Viader  begged  the  people  to 
allow  the  burial  to  proceed.  He  promised  that 
every  one  should  receive  some  token  of  the  holy 
man.  The  coffin  was  then  closed  and  lowered 
into  the  tomb  prepared  for  it. 

The  entry  of  Fr.  Magin  Catala's  burial  in  the 
Santa  Clara  records  reads  as  follows :  "On  the 
22d  of  November,  1830,  at  seven  in  the  morning, 
my  companion,  the  Rev.  Magin  Catala,  preacher 
apostolic  of  the  College  of  San  Fernando,  Mex- 
ico, returned  his  soul  to  the  Creator.  He  was  a 


35 


missionary  of  this  mission  from  July,  1794,  until 
the  present  time  without  any  interruption,  that 
is  to  say,  for  thirty-six  years,  and,  excepting  the 
first  two  years,  during  the  thirty-four  years 
always  in  my  company.  He  received  the  holy 
Sacraments  in  due  time;  he  made  his  confession 
and  received  Communion  frequently  during  his 
long  and  painful  sickness.  His  whole  life  was 
exemplary,  industrious,  and  edifying,  and  much 
more  so  his  death.  On  the  23d  of  said  month  and 
year  the  burial  took  place  in  the  presence  of  the 
Rev.  Fr.  Ex-Presidente,  Fr.  Narciso  Duran,  who 
delivered  the  funeral  sermon,  but  could  not  cele- 
brate Mass,  because  by  accident  he  had  broken 
the  fast.  The  concourse  of  the  people  since  his 
death  was  great,  and  the  lamentation  until  after 
the  interment  was  general.  The  entire  population 
of  the  mission  and  of  the  town  of  San  Jose  showed 
plainly  how  much  they  loved  and  venerated  him. 
On  said  day,  in  fine,  in  the  presence  of  all,  he 
was  interred  by  me  in  the  tomb  which  had  been 
prepared  very  near  the  presbytery,  or  the  first 
step,  on  the  Gospel  side.  He  was  sixty-nine  years 
of  age,  and  a  native  of  Montblanch,  Catalonia. 
May  he  rest  in  peace.  Amen.  In  testimony 
whereof  I  sign  my  name,  Fr.  Jose  Viader." 


CHAPTER  V. 

Fr.  Magin's  Fame  for  Sanctity. — Practices  of  the 
People. — Fr.  Magin's  Relics. — Opinion  of  His 
Superiors,  Fathers  Lasuen,  Sarria,  and  Payeras. 
— Fr.  Jose  Viader's  Respect. 

THE  universal  sorrow  of  the  people,  the  cry 
of  all  "The  saint  has  left  us,"  their  confi- 
dence in  his  supernatural  powers  and  in  his  guid- 
ance while  alive,  demonstrate  what  was  the  opin- 
ion of  the  multitude  concerning  the  virtues  of 
Fr.  Magin  Catala.  Indians  and  whites  alike, 
without  a  dissenting  voice,  regarded  him  as  a 
saint  long  before  he  passed  out  of  the  world. 

For  many  years  after  the  death  of  the  servant 
of  God,  even  in  distant  localities,  such  as  San 
Juan  Bautista  and  Santa  Cruz,  the  people  would 
ask  the  priests  to  celebrate  holy  Mass  in  honor 
of  the  soul  of  Fr.  Magin,  "a  la  alma  del  Padre 
Santo,"  as  they  expressed  it ;  but  never  for  the 
soul  of  the  holy  man.  Such  is  the  testimony  of 
the  Very  Rev.  Joachim  Adam,  Vicar-general  of 
Los  Angeles,  who  for  years  was  stationed  at 
Santa  Cruz,  and  of  the  late  Bishop  Francis  Mora 
of  Los  Angeles,  who  in  the  early  days  had  charge 
of  San  Juan  Bautista.  Over-zealous  people 
would  frequently  go  so  far  as  to  place  burning 
candles  on  the  grave  of  Fr.  Magin  to  show  their 
love  for  the  dead  priest.  This  was  not  tolerated 
by  the  respective  pastor,  because  it  violated  the 


37 


Decree  of  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  which  forbids  pay- 
ing such  extraordinary  respect  as  is  accorded 
only  to  those  whom  Mother  Church  declared 
worthy  of  such  exterior  marks  of  veneration. 
"We  all  invoke  the  soul  of  Fr.  Magin  in  every 
necessity,  and  we  are  always  relieved,"  the  people 
would  say  in  reply  for  an  explanation  of  their  de- 
votion to  the  holy  missionary.  Things  he  did  and 
his  virtues  were  topics  of  conversation  in  every 
household.  "We  look  upon  him  as  upon  a  saint," 
they  answered  when  they  were  warned  not  to 
anticipate  the  action  of  Mother  Church.  "If  any 
one  has  any  trouble  whatsoever,"  another  would 
say,  "at  once  there  comes  to  our  mind  'Jesus, 
Mary,  and  the  soul  of  Fr.  Magin  assist  me.'  " 

Anything  that  had  been  used  by  the  servant  of 
God  was  confidently  applied  in  sickness,  par- 
ticularly in  desperate  cases  of  childbirth,  and 
always  with  good  results.  Generally  the  people 
would,  at  the  same  time,  make  a  promise  to  re- 
cite the  Rosary,  offer  a  candle,  receive  the  Sacra- 
ments, or  go  on  foot  to  the  mission,  etc.  This 
devotion  to  the  memory  of  the  holy  man  was  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  Indians.  It  appeared  most 
pronounced  among  the  Spaniards  and  the  better 
class  of  Californians  all  over  Central  California. 
To  this  day,  after  nearly  a  century,  they  speak  of 
him  as  El  Santo  or  El  Prof  eta.  The  people  were 
formerly  so  sensitive  with  regard  to  the  servant 
of  God  that,  as  one  expressed  himself,  "It  was 


38 


enough  to  make  the  blood  rise  in  a  Californian,  if 
any  one  said  aught,  even  in  jest,"  against  Fr. 
Magin." 

Long  before  the  people  became  aware  of  the 
extraordinary  virtues  of  Fr.  Magin,  his  own 
superiors  had  recognized  his  worth.  As  early 
as  October  15th,  1799,  Fr.  Fermin  Francisco  de 
Lasuen,  the  superior  of  the  missions,  in  a  letter 
to  Governor  Borica  spoke  of  the  missionary  of 
Santa  Clara  as  "Bendito  Padre  Magin,"  "Blessed 
or  saintly  Fr.  Magin."  Fr.  Vincente  de  Sarria, 
comisario  prefecto  of  the  California  friars,  on 
November  5th,  1817,  when  reporting  the  charac- 
teristics of  all  the  missionaries  to  the  College 
of  San  Fernando,  Mexico,  writes  of  Fr.  Magin 
as  follows :  "His  prudent  conduct  together  with 
a  tender  and  religious  zeal,  which  seems  to  con- 
stitute his  character,  gain  for  him  the  merit  of  a 
commendable  and  evangelical  missionary  in  his 
ministry,  which,  besides  his  populous  mission, 
comprises  also  the  spiritual  charge  of  the  town  of 
San  Jose,  one  league  distant  from  the  mission.  I 
do  not  doubt  that  this  good  Father  could  fill 
other  charges  and  offices  of  some  similarity  to  the 
one  he  occupies,  if  the  present  state  of  his  health 
did  not  embarrass  him,  which  very  much  prevents 
him  from  undertaking  journeys." 

Fr.  Mariano  Payeras,  who  succeeded  Fr.  Sar- 
ria in  the  office  of  comisario  prefecto,  reporting  on 
December  31st,  1820,  says,  "Fr.  Magin  Catala  is 


39 


the  senior  missionary  of  Santa  Clara.  He  is  fifty- 
nine  years  of  age  .  .  .  His  merit  is  great ;  bin 
services  merit  recommendation  for  the  offices  ol 
the  Order,  but  he  already  feels  very  mucb  the 
weight  of  his  years.  The  rheumatism  torments 
him,  and  he  is  almost  incapacitated  for  travel  on 
horseback." 

Fr.  Jose  Viader  might  have  told  us  most  about 
Fr.  Magin's  virtues  and  general  holiness  of  life : 
but  either  his  lips  were  sealed  by  a  command  of 
his  late  brother  in  religion,  or  he  regarded  what 
he  knew  too  sacred  to  be  divulged.  As  we  have 
seen,  Fr.  Viader,  in  entering  the  burial  into  the 
records,  merely  remarks  that  Fr.  Magin's  "whole 
life  was  exemplary,  industrious,  and  edifying,  and 
much  more  so  his  death."  In  a  letter  to  the  gov- 
ernor, dated  May  llth,  1816,  Fr.  Viader  shows 
his  esteem  in  these  words :  "If  my  companion 
has  not  signed  my  last  report,  it  is  certain  that 
he  saw  it  and  approved  it ;  for  in  mission  matters 
nothing  is  done  which  is  not  according  to  his 
pleasure  and  approbation,  as  is  proper,  inasmuch 
as  he  is  older,  experienced,  and  more  worthy." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Opening  of  Fr.  Magin's  Tomb. — Identification. — 
Archbishop  Alemany  Interested. — Petition  of  the 
Jesuit  Fathers. — Decision  of  the  Archbishop's 
Council. — Notary  and  Vice-Postulator  Appointed. 
— Archbishop  Alemany  the  Moving  Spirit. 

ON  Monday  of  Holy  Week,  April  2cl,  1860, 
thirty  years  after  the  holy  man  had  passed 
to  his  eternal  reward,  the  tomb  was  opened  in  or- 
der to  receive  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Peter  De-Vos, 
S.  J.,  who  had  died  on  Palm  Sunday.  A  great 
multitude  of  people  flocked  to  the  church  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  some  relic  of  Fr.  Magin  Catala. 
Among  the  many  survivors,  who  had  known  the 
servant  of  God  personally,  was  Juan  Crisostomo 
Galindo,  for  several  years  majordomo  of  Mission 
Santa  Clara  and  an  intimate  friend  of  the  late 
missionary.  When  the  coffin  had  been  raised  and 
opened,  Indians  and  Spaniards,  and  especially 
Juan  Galindo,  identified  the  body  as  that  of  the 
servant  of  God,  Fr.  Magin,  though  only  the  skele- 
ton and  the  Franciscan  habit  remained.  Back  of 
the  skull  and  around  the  chin  lay  bunches  of  gray 
hair.  The  jaws  still  held  their  set  of  fine,  white 
teeth  which  the  youthful  John  Alon?o  Forbes, 
now  Justice  of  the  Peace  at  Jolon,  undertook  to 
touch  with  his  fingers.  His  grandfather  Juan 
Galindo,  however,  appeared  so  scandalized  at 
this  bit  of  irreverence  for  the  remains  of  the 


41 


priestly  friend,  whom  he  had  regarded  as  a  saint, 
that  the  boy  hastily  withdrew.  The  coffin  lid 
showed  breaks  through  which  some  of  the  earth 
had  entered.  Judging  from  the  size  of  the  skele- 
ton, Fr.  Magin  must  have  measured  about  five 
feet  eight  inches  in  height. 

A  Latin  record  of  the  proceedings  was  drawn 
up  and  later  on  report  was  made  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  San  Francisco  as  follows : 

"Most  Rev.  Joseph  Sadoc  Alemany,  O.  P., 

"Archbishop  of  San  Francisco,  California. 

"Most  Rev.  Father  in  Christ :  I,  the  under- 
signed, having  celebrated  the  Holy  Sacrifice  and 
fervently  prayed  to  God,  at  Your  request  and  for 
the  greater  honor  and  glory  of  God  and  the  Im- 
maculate Virgin  Mary,  bear  witness  to  the  follow- 
ing facts,  to  wit: 

"1.  That  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Father  Magin 
Catala,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  rests  in  the 
parish  church  at  Santa  Clara,  in  the  State  of 
California,  near  the  Communion  railing,  but  out- 
side the  sanctuary,  on  the  Gospel  side.  The 
grave  was  opened  A.  D.  1860,  in  order  to  place 
the  body  of  Father  Peter  De-Vos,  S.  J.,  who  had 
died  on  Palm  Sunday,  April  1,  1860,  in  the  same 
tomb.  The  coffin,  which  contained  the  remains 
of  Fr.  Magin,  had  suffered  somewhat  owing  to 
the  length  of  time  and  the  dampness.  The  body 
was  seen  and  recognized  by  many  Indians,  Mexi- 


42 


cans,  Spaniards,  and  others  who  had  known  the 
Father. 

"2.  There  was  nothing  left  save  the  bones, 
shreds  of  his  garments,  a  little  hair  about  the 
jaws,  and  some  of  the  ground  that  had  fallen 
through  the  cracks  into  the  coffin.  I  have  seen 
all  this  with  my  own  eyes.  Thereupon,  towards 
evening  (April  2,  1860)  the  remains  were  again 
placed  into  the  same  tomb.  Upon  this  same  cof- 
fin the  other  containing  the  body  of  Father  Peter 
De-Vos,  S.  J.,  was  placed. 

"3.  Father  Aloysius  Bosco,  then  Assistant 
Pastor,  was  present  during  the  whole  time  that  all 
this  took  place,  in  order  that  no  doubt  might 
arise  as  to  the  identity  of  the  body  of  said  Fr. 
Magin. 

"Your  most  humble  Servant  in  Christ, 
"FRANCIS  IGNATIUS  PRELATO,  S.  J. 

"August  12th,  1884,  The  Feast  of  St.  Clare. 
"St.  Ignatius  College,  S.  J.,  in  the  City  of  San 

Francisco,  California." 

Devotion  to  the  servant  of  God  continued 
among  the  Spaniards,  Indians,  and  Mexicans,  and 
so  many  wonderful  things  were  said  to  have  oc- 
curred through  his  intercession  that  the  Jesuit 
Fathers,  to  whom  the  Very  Rev.  Jose  Gonzalez 
Rubio,  O.  F.  M.,  administrator  of  the  diocese, 
had  given  charge  of  Santa  Clara  in  1851,  com- 
municated their  observations  to  Archbishop  Ale- 


43 


many  early  in  1882.  From  letters  preserved  in 
the  archives  of  the  archdiocese  we  learn  that  His 
Grace  on  July  26th  and  August  4th,  1882,  made 
inquiries  at  Santa  Clara  with  regard  to  the  for- 
malities that  must  be  observed  in  the  process  of 
beatification.  In  obedience  to  the  Archbishop's 
request  Fr.  Dominic  Joseph  Lentz,  O.  P.,  of  Be- 
nicia,  on  September  12th  and  October  7th,  1882, 
reported  on  the  Cultus  Prohibitus.  Early  in  Oc- 
tober of  the  same  year  His  Grace  went  a  step 
further,  and  asked  the  Rev.  Doroteo  Ambris  of 
Mission  San  Antonio  to  write  a  Life  of  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  Catala.  Father  Ambris  replied  on  October 
15th  that  he  did  not  consider  himself  equal  to 
the  task  and  therefore  begged  to  be  excused. 
From  a  letter  of  Fr.  Jose  Maria  Romo,  O.  F.  M., 
Guardian  of  the  Franciscan  monastery  at  Santa 
Barbara,  dated  October  21st,  1882,  it  Is  evident 
that  Archbishop  Alemany  was  calling  for  infor- 
mation as  far  down  as  Santa  Barbara  with  regard 
to  the  rumors  of  sanctity  circulating  about  Fr. 
Magin. 

When  the  Jesuit  Fathers  of  Santa  Clara  dis- 
covered that  the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco 
looked  with  favor  upon  the  matter,  they  took  a 
decided  step  and  in  a  joint  letter  petitioned  His 
Grace  to  institute  the  canonical  investigation. 
The  document  written  in  Latin  reads  as  follows : 
"Most  Rev.  and  Most  Illustrious  Lord: 

"Among  the  saintly  apostolic  men,  who  first 


44 


brought  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to  the  inhabitants 
of  these  regions  of  California  Fr.  Magin  Catala, 
a  member  of  the  Order  of  the  Friars  Minor  of  St. 
Francis,  was  renowned.  For  thirty-six  years  in 
succession,  from  1794  to  1830,  he  stood  at  the 
head  of  this  Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  and  he  was 
known  far  and  wide  on  account  of  his  labors  for 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls  and 
because  of  his  virtues.  Inasmuch  as  more  than 
fifty  years  have  already  passed  by  since  his  blessed 
death,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  memory  of  his 
virtues  and  labors  may  be  lost  and  his  fame  de- 
cline, unless  everything  relating  to  the  servant 
of  God  be  at  once  diligently  collected  from  those 
that  still  survive  and  may  remember  them,  and 
ordered  to  be  preserved  in  writing. 

If  God  be  pleased  to  glorify  him  on  earth  also, 
the  necessary  proofs  to  justify  instituting  the 
process  are  not  wanting.  Hence  the  undersigned 
Father  John  Pinasco  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  Rec- 
tor of  the  parish  of  Santa  Clara,  and  his  Assist- 
ants, Father  Aloysius  Masnato  and  Joseph  Bixio, 
likewise  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  hereby  humbly 
petition  Your  Grace  that,  if  You  should  judge 
it  conducive  to  increase  the  glory  of  God,  Your 
Grace  in  Your  wisdom  would  deign  to  decree 
that  information  concerning  the  virtues  and  repu- 
tation for  sanctity,  which  the  said  servant  of 
God  enjoyed,  be  canonically  collected. 

"Meanwhile,  wishing  Your  Grace  everything 


45 

good  from  their  whole  heart,  they  humbly  ask 
Your  blessing. 

"Your  Grace's  Servants  in  Christ, 

"JOHN  PINASCO,  S.  J. 
"ALOYSIUS  MASNATO,  S.  J. 
"JOSEPH  BIXIO,  S.  J. 
"Santa  Clara,  November  20th,  1882. 
"To  the   Most   Illustrious   and   Most   Reverend 
Father  in  the  Lord,  Joseph   Sadoc  Alemany, 
O.  P.,  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco." 

The  Archbishop  brought  the  petition  to  the  at- 
tention of  his  Council  with  the  result  set  forth  in 
the  following  document: 

"The  Ecclesiastical  Council  of  His  Grace  the 
Most  Rev.  J.  S.  Alemany,  D.  D.,  Archbishop  of 
San  Francisco,  having  laid  before  it  a  petition 
forwarded  by  the  Rev.  Rector  and  Assistant  Rec- 
tors of  the  Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  California,  re- 
questing that  steps  be  taken  to  determine  the 
truth  of  the  popular  belief  and  tradition  regard- 
ing the  reputed  pre-eminent  sanctity  of  the  Rev- 
erend Padre  Magin  Catala,  who  departed  this 
life  at  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara  in  the  year  of 
Our  Lord  1830,  the  members  of  said  Council  are 
unanimously  of  the  opinion,  from  the  statements 
set  forth  in  the  document  referred  to,  that  ample 
evidence  exists  to  warrant  the  Most  Rev.  Arch- 
bishop to  permit  an  investigation  into  the  life  and 
virtues  of  the  Rev.  Missionary  with  the  view  of 


46 


taking  the  necessary  measures  for  having  his 
name  ultimately  placed  on  the  Catalogue  of  the 
Saints,  in  case  the  inquiry  should  result  in  estab- 
lishing his  pre-eminent  holiness  of  life.  St. 
Mary's  Cathedral,  San  Francisco,  Nov.  24th, 
1882.  W.  Gleeson,  Secretary." 

The  Archbishop  acceded  to  the  wishes  of  the 
Fathers  of  Santa  Clara  and  of  his  Council.  On 
December  5th,  1882,  with  the  consent  of  the 
Jesuit  Superiors,  he  appointed  the  Rev.  Benedict 
Picardo,  S.  J.,  Notary  of  the  Process  to  be  in- 
stituted. The  Rev.  Father  took  oath  on  the  same 
day  before  the  Archbishop  in  the  presence  of  the 
witnesses,  the  Rev.  George  Montgomery  and  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Bixio,  S.  J.  Father  Picardo  took 
great  pains  to  find  trustworthy  persons  who  had 
known  Fr.  Magin,  and  others  who  might  tell  the 
facts  as  learned  from  eye-witnesses.  He 
traveled  all  over  the  country  from  San  Rafael  to 
Mission  San  Antonio,  took  the  depositions  on  the 
spot  in  the  presence  of  priests  or  other  creditable 
persons,  and  succeeded  in  discovering  a  large 
number  of  surviving  men  and  women,  who  had 
been  more  or  less  acquainted  with  the  servant  of 
God.  These  witnesses  and  others  were  called  to 
Santa  Clara,  where  the  sessions  began  about  the 
middle  of  August,  1884,  as  we  know  from  a  let- 
ter which  the  Archbishop  on  August  llth  wrote 
to  Rev.  Joseph  Bixio,  S.  J.,  who  had  been  ap- 
pointed Vice-Postulator  in  the  case.  "The  main 


47 


thing  now  is  to  organize,"  His  Grace  says,  "and 
to  secure  the  testimony  of  the  old  witnesses.  .  .  . 
I  will  take  along  with  me  plenty  of  suitable  paper, 
Spanish  wax,  seals,  a  tin  box  and  key  in  which  to 
lock  the  work  when  adjourning,  as  prescribed. 
.  .  .  I  have  made  all  necessary  appointments, 
and  will  notify  the  officers  again.  Please  tell 
Father  Congiato  that,  probably,  I  may  be  with 
him  Saturday  evening  or  Sunday  morning  so  as 
to  confer  with  him." 

All  this  shows  that  Archbishop  Alemany  was 
deeply  interested.  In  truth,  he  was  the  moving 
spirit  in  the  whole  proceeding.  It  was  he  that 
wrote  to  different  localities  in  Spain  for  informa- 
tion about  the  antecedents  and  early  youth  of  Fr. 
Magin  Catala.  He  also,  though  in  vain,  applied 
for  particulars  concerning  the  holy  man's  sojourn 
in  Mexico,  and  saw  to  it  that  every  formality  pre- 
scribed by  Rome  was  carried  out.  More  than 
that,  Archbishop  Alemany  himself  approached 
various  pious  and  wealthy  persons  in  order  to 
procure  means  wherewith  to  meet  the  expenses 
which  must  have  been  heavy. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Members  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Court. — The 
Witnesses. — Demand  for  Corroborative  Evidence. 
— A  Life  of  Fr.  Magin. — Removal  of  Fr.  Magin's 
Remains. — The  New  Process  de  Non-Cultu. — The 
Proceedings. — Ridiculous  Non-Catholic  Notions 
About  the  Canonization  of  Saints. 

THE  Court  which  finally  convened  at  Santa 
Clara  to  take  the  evidence  was  constituted 
as  follows :  Judge,  the  Most  Rev.  J.  S.  Alemany, 
O.  P.,  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco;  Vice- 
Postulator  or  Defender  of  the  Cause,  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Bixio,  S.  J. ;  Notary,  who  had  to  take 
down  the  testimony  literally,  the  Rev.  Benedict 
Picardo,  S.  J. ;  Promoter  Fiscalis,  popularly 
known  as  "Devil's  Advocate,"  the  Rev.  Aloysius 
Masnato,  S.  J. ;  Notarius  in  Actuarium  Deputatus, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  compare  the  copy  of  the 
amanuenses  with  the  original  of  the  Notary,  the 
Rev.  Vincent  Vinyes,  O.  P.  After  the  testimony 
had  been  taken  the  manuscript  of  the  Notary  was 
parceled  out  to  three  scribes  or  amanuenses,  who 
had  to  make  a  copy  for  the  Sacred  Congregation 
of  Rites  at  Rome.  The  three  copyists  in  this 
case  were  the  Reverends  Lorenzo  Serda,  of  Oak- 
land, Cal.,  Emanuel  Estragues,  and  Andres 
Garriga.  The  last  named  at  present  is  Rector  of 
the  parish  at  San  Luis  Obispo.  The  copyists 
were  sworn  to  secrecy  until  the  promulgation  of 
the  acts. 


49 


Sixty-two  witnesses  were  called  and  examined 
under  oath.  Of  this  number,  twelve  laymen  and 
twenty-four  women  were  eye-witnesses  to  the 
facts  which  they  related.  Six  Jesuits,  two  secular 
priests,  one  Franciscan,  eight  laymen,  and  nine 
women  had  their  knowledge  from  near  relatives 
or  other  trustworthy  persons  who  had  been  eye- 
witnesses. The  main  object  of  the  investigation 
was  to  obtain  proof  that  the  servant  of  God  had 
practiced  the  theological,  cardinal  and  other  vir- 
tues in  an  heroic  degree.  The  alleged  miracles 
merely  served  as  incentives  to  the  process.  The 
result  was  taken  to  Rome  apparently  by  Arch- 
bishop Alemany  himself  and  there  ordered 
printed. 

The  Archbishop,  soon  after  the  close  of  the 
canonical  process  in  behalf  of  Fr.  Magin,  resigned 
and  went  to  Rome.  From  there  he  informed  his 
successor,  Most  Rev.  Patrick  William  Riordan, 
D.  D.,  that  the  Sacred  Congregation  had  exam- 
ined the  Acts  of  the  Court,  found  the  evidence  to 
be  good,  but  desired  corroborative  testimony. 
The  Very  Rev.  John  Prendergast,  Vicar-General, 
was  thereupon  directed  to  act  as  Judge  during 
the  subsequent  investigation.  The  Court  held 
one  session  at  Santa  Clara,  but  as  nothing  could 
be  done  until  new  evidence  had  been  procured, 
the  Rev.  Benedict  Picardo,  S.  J.,  of  San  Jose, 
was  directed  to  present  trustworthy  witnesses, 
and  to  report  whenever  he  was  ready.  No  re- 


50 


port  was  ever  made  and  no  other  session  of  the 
Court  took  place. 

In  1890,  the  Postulator-General  at  Rome  took 
steps  to  further  the  cause  of  Fr.  Magin. 
Through  the  Very  Rev.  Anselmus  Mueller,  O. 
F.  M.,  Defmitor-General,  now  Rector  of  St. 
Francis'  College,  Quincy,  Ills.,  he  urged  the  late 
Fr.  Clementine  Deymann,  O.  F.  M.,  of  Watson- 
ville,  Cal.,  to  publish  a  life  of  the  servant  of  God. 
In  the  absence  of  all  historical  material,  this  was 
an  exceedingly  difficult  task.  Fortunately,  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Garriga,  one  of  the  three  amanu- 
enses of  the  proceedings  in  1884,  had  collected 
most  of  the  testimony  given  by  the  witnesses  with 
a  view  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  holy 
man  of  Santa  Clara.  He  readily  turned  the 
manuscript  over  to  Fr.  Clementine,  who  re- 
arranged and  rewrote  the  story.  For  some  rea- 
son or  the  other  it  was  never  published,  and  so 
the  cause  of  good  Fr.  Magin  was  again  left  in 
abeyance. 

In  1904,  the  writer  published  a  lengthy  sketch 
of  Fr.  Magin's  life,  which  was  based  chiefly 
upon  the  notes  of  Rev.  Andrew  Garriga.  It  ran 
through  six  numbers  of  the  now  extinct  "Do- 
minicana,"  a  monthly  magazine  edited  by  the 
Dominican  Fathers  of  San  Francisco.  It  was  the 
first  time  that  the  holy  man's  life  came  to  the 
notice  of  the  general  public. 

Interest  was  revived  in  1907,  when  the  Jesuit 


SACRED  TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 
PADRE  MAGIN  CATALA,O.F.M. 

BORN  AT  MONTBLANC. 

CATALOS1A.  SPAIN,  A.  D.  1761. 

BECAME  A  FRANCISCAN 

AT  BARCELONA.  A.  D,  1777, 

ARRIVED  AT  SANTA  CLARA.  JULY  A. D.  1734 

HERE  HE  TOILED.  PRAYED.SUFFERED 

FOR  36  YEARS. 

DIED  IN  THE  ODOR  OF  SANCTITY. 

NOV.  22  A.  D.  1830. 

BELOVED  OF  COD  AND  MEN,  WHOSE  MEMORY 
- 

IS  fN  BENEDICTION 

tCCUSlASTICUS.  45  t 


51 


Fathers  of  Santa  Clara  resolved  to  transfer  the 
remains  of  Fr.  Magin  from  the  unmarked  grave 
to  the  foot  of  the  Altar  of  the  Crucifix,  where  he 
had  passed  so  many  hours  in  contemplation  and 
prayer  for  his  people.  On  digging  for  the  body 
of  the  former  .missionary,  it  was  found  that  the 
old  coffin  had  entirely  decayed.  Only  a  few 
bones,  some  hair,  and  pieces  of  habit  were  left. 
The  pieces  of  habit  were  best  preserved.  The 
fabric  was  a  coarse  woolen  cloth  and  of  dis- 
tinctly brown  color.  The  Fathers  and  Brothers 
reverently,  though  privately,  gathered  the  relics 
and  placed  them  in  a  tin  box.  The  lid,  which 
bore  a  suitable  inscription,  was  fastened  down 
hermetically  and  then  lowered  into  the  tomb  on 
the  Gospel  side  of  the  little  altar.  Over  the  whole 
was  placed  a  magnificent  marble  slab  with  gold 
lettering,  which  recites  the  various  dates  in  the 
life  of  the  servant  of  God.  At  the  head  of  the 
slab  are  the  Franciscan  coat-of-arms,  and  at  the 
foot  are  the  words  from  Ecclesiasticus  xlv,  1 : 
"His  memory  is  in  benediction." 

In  1908,  at  the  request  of  the  new  Postulator- 
General,  Very  Rev.  Fr.  Francisco  Maria  Paolini, 
O.  F.  M.,  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites,  after 
examining  the  testimony  obtained  in  the  former 
process,  decided  to  advance  the  cause  of  Fr. 
Magin  by  ordering  the  process  de  non  Cultu. 
This  was  merely  to  prove  that  no  public  cult  had 
been  accorded  the  servant  of  God  contrary  to  the 


52 


Decree  of  Pope  Urban  VIII.  A  sealed  list  of 
questions  to  that  effect  was  sent  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  San  Francisco,  and  by  him  turned 
over  to  the  Promotor  Fiscalis.  The  Sacred 
Congregation  of  Rites  also  directed  His  Grace, 
Most  Rev.  Patrick  William  Riordan,  D.  D.,  to 
issue  a  decree  calling  for  the  writings  of  Fr. 
Magin  Catala.  This  decree  was  issued  on  No- 
vember 6th,  1908,  and  read  from  the  pulpit  of 
every  parish  church  in  the  Archdiocese. 

With  the  consent  of  the  Commissary  Provin- 
cial, Very  Rev.  Theodore  Arentz,  O.  F.  M.,  the 
Postulator-General,  on  September  19th,  1908,  ap- 
pointed the  writer  Vice-Postulator  in  the  case. 
This  made  it  incumbent  upon  him  to  procure  the 
witnesses  and  to  press  the  case  before  the 
Ecclesiastical  Court  to  be  organized  by  His  Grace, 
the  Archbishop  of  San  Francisco.  The  members 
of  the  Court  established  by  the  Archbishop  on 
November  6th,  1908,  were:  Very  Rev.  Richard 
A.  Gleeson,  S.  J.,  President  of  Santa  Clara  Col- 
lege, Judge ;  Rev.  Reginald  Newell,  O.  P.,  Prior 
of  the  Dominican  Monastery,  San  Francisco, 
Promotor  Fidei;  Rev.  Engelbert  Gey,  O.  F.  M., 
Guardian  of  the  Franciscan  Monastery,  Fruit- 
vale,  Cal.,  Notary;  Rev.  Maximilian  Neumann, 
O.  F.  M.,  Definitor  and  Guardian  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan Monastery,  San  Francisco,  Reviewing 
Notary;  Rev.  Bonaventure  Oblasser,  O.  F.  M., 
Cursor  or  Messenger ;  Rev.  William  J.  McMillan, 


S3 


S.  J.,  and  Rev.  William  Lonergan,  S.  J.,  scribes 
or  copyists.  All  the  members  of  the  Court  had 
to  take  oath  and  were  pledged  to  secrecy  until 
the  promulgation  of  the  Process,  which  took 
place  at  the  review  of  the  case  in  the  latter  part 
of  February,  1909. 

The  sessions  began  at  Santa  Clara  on  Wed- 
nesday morning,  November  18th.  Eight  well- 
informed  witnesses  testified  under  oath.  The 
last  testimony  was  received  at  the  last  secret  ses- 
sion on  Wednesday,  January  27th,  1909.  The 
last  open  session  was  held  Saturday,  February 
20th,  under  the  presidency  of  His  Grace,  the 
Archbishop  himself.  The  documents  were  sealed 
and  a  messenger  chosen  in  the  person  of  the 
writer,  whose  business  it  was  to  take  the  papers, 
together  with  the  few  writings  of  Fr.  Magin,  to 
Rome.  The  cause  of  Fr.  Magin  Catala  now 
rests  with  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites.  If 
everything  is  found  to  have  been  transacted  in 
keeping  with  the  numerous  formalities  pre- 
scribed, and  if,  after  a  rigid  examination,  it  is 
shown  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  servant  of  God 
has  indeed  practiced  the  theological,  cardinal,  and 
other  virtues  in  an  heroic  degree,  then  the  Holy 
Father,  the  Pope,  may  confer  upon  Fr.  Magin 
Catala  the  title  of  "Venerable,"  which,  however, 
entitles  to  no  such  veneration  as  is  accorded  the 
Blessed  or  Saints.  When,  after  that,  two  first- 
class  miracles  have  been  proved  to  have  occurred 


54 


through  his  intercession,  then  Fr.  Magin  may  re- 
ceive beatification,  which  permits  public  cult  to 
a  limited  degree,  but  is  still  far  from  canonization. 
•  We  have  somewhat  minutely  stated  all  that  has 
transpired  in  the  case  of  Fr.  Magin,  in  order  that 
those  interested  may  understand  that  the  "making 
of  a  Saint"  is  not  such  a  simple  and  superficial 
matter  as  is  generally  supposed.  Ordinary  Cath- 
olics not  infrequently  lack  knowledge  and  appre- 
ciation of  the  scrupulous  care  employed  at  Rome 
before  as  much  as  the  title  "Venerable"  is  con- 
ceded to  a  servant  of  God.  As  to  non-Catholics, 
the  dense  ignorance  and  the  flippant  tone  that 
prevail  even  among  reputable  historians  and 
writers,  when  they  touch  this  subject,  are  remark- 
able. One  instance  will  suffice  for  illustration. 
Cabeza  de  Vaca  and  his  few  companions, 
whilst  held  prisoners  by  the  Texas  Indians  from 
about  1529  to  1536,  performed  some  remarkable 
cures  which  at  least  procured  better  treatment 
for  themselves.  "Our  method,"  he  writes,  "was 
to  'bless  the  sick,  breathing  upon  them,  and  to 
recite  a  Pater-Noster  and  an  Ave-Maria,  praying 
with  all  earnestness  to  God,  Our  Savior,  that  He 
would  give  health  and  influence  to  make  us  some 
good  return.  In  His  clemency  He  willed  that  all 
those  for  whom  we  supplicated  should  tell  the 
others  that  they  were  sound  and  in  good  health, 
directly  after  we  had  made  the  sign  of  the 
Blessed  Cross  over  them."  In  connection  with 


55 


this  incident,  the  apparently  honest  historian, 
Woodbury  Lowery,  on  page  194  of  "The  Spanish 
Settlements  in  the  United  States,  1513-1561," 
New  York,  1901,  sees  proper  to  remark:  "Per- 
haps when  the  storm  of  controversy  aroused  by 
this  first  of  miracles  performed  upon  our  soil 
shall  have  been  quite  forgotten,  another  saint 
shall  be  added  to  the  Calendar  worthy  to  become 
the  patron  of  the  present  State  of  Texas." 


PART  II. 
VIRTUES. 


"By  their  fruits  you  shall  know  them." 

(Matt,  vii,  20.) 

WE  have  now  to  consider  the  virtues  that 
adorned  the  servant  of  God.  Mother 
Church,  as  we  have  seen,  authorized  an  investi- 
gation as  soon  as  her  attention  was  called  to  the 
prodigies  said  to  have  been  wrought  by  Fr. 
Magin  Catala,  and  to  the  remarkable  devotion  for 
him  which  continued  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury after  his  death.  The  object  was  to  ascer- 
tain whether  the  wonderful  man  had  practiced  all 
the  Christian  virtues  in  an  heroic  degree,  so  that 
he  could  be  set  up  as  an  example  worthy  of  imita- 
tion. The  Catholic  Church,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, has  standards  of  sanctity  quite  different 
from  those  of  the  world.  Unless  it  is  proved  be- 
yond a  doubt  that  the  candidate  for  the  honors 
of  the  altar  excelled  in  the  exercise  of  the  theo- 
logical, cardinal,  and  other  virtues,  alleged 
miracles  have  no  weight  in  her  eyes.  Miracles, 
indeed,  are  not  necessary  to  determine  the  holi- 
ness of  a  person. 

Whether  or  not  an  individual  possessed  the 
virtues  mentioned  in  an  heroic  degree  must  be 
inferred  from  his  words  and  acts.  These  are  the 
fruits  of  his  interior,  and  "by  their  fruits  you 
shall  know  them,"  Christ,  Our  Lord,  Himself  has 
given  us  to  understand.  Now  "whosoever,"  says 
Cardinal  Aguirre,  as  quoted  by  Fr.  Palou,  in  the 


60 


Life  of  Fr.  Junipero  Serra,  "is  found  always  and 
with  all  the  energy  of  his  mind  to  have  observed 
not  only  the  Commandments,  but  also  the  Evan- 
gelical Counsels,  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life, 
and  never  to  have  swerved  from  that  difficult  and 
narrow  path  by  word,  deed,  or  omission,  and  that, 
too,  according  to  the  general  opinion  of  men  who 
admire  such  perfection  of  life  in  mortal  man,  he 
indeed  with  probability  is  believed  to  have  been 
endowed  with  the  infused  virtues  in  an  heroic  de- 
gree, and  also  with  the  acquired  virtues  in  the 
same  degree." 

Pope  Benedict  XIV  *  describes  the  signs  of 
heroic  virtue  in  these  words :  "In  order  that  a 
virtue  be  heroic  it  must  effect  that  he  who  pos- 
sesses it  works  with  ease,  with  promptitude,  and 
with  cheerfulness  beyond  the  ordinary  from  a 
supernatural  motive,  with  self-denial,  and  with 
subjection  of  his  affections." 

The  virtues,  which  must  be  found  in  a  true 
saint  and  which  he  must  have  practiced  in  so 
eminent  a  manner  and  degree,  if  he  is  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  calendar  of  the  Church,  now  follow 
in  their  regular  order.  Let  us  hope  that  Mother 
Church  will  find  that  Fr.  Magin  Catala  has 
proved  himself  a  hero  in  every  one  of  them. 


*  De  Serv.  Dei  Beatif.,  cap.  xxii,  lib.  3. 


THEOLOGICAL  VIRTUES. 

FAITH. 

"Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  God." 

(Hebr.  xi,  6.) 

UT^AITH,"  according  to  St.  Paul,  "is  the 
r  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the  con- 
viction of  things  that  appear  not."  l  "Substance 
he  calls  it,"  says  St.  Bernardine  of  Siena, 2  "be- 
cause like  a  foundation  it  sustains  the  whole  spir- 
itual edifice."  Hence  faith  is  the  most  necessary 
of  all  virtues ;  but  there  are  degrees  in  faith. 
St.  Bonaventure 3  distinguishes  three  degrees. 
The  first  is  attained  by  the  generality  of  Chris- 
tians, who,  without  higher  science  and  holiness, 
accept  the  teachings  of  the  Church  as  the  word 
of  God.  In  the  second  degree  the  soul,  with  the 
aid  of  the  supernatural  gift  of  understanding, 
penetrates  more  or  less  what  she  accepts  as  true. 
To  a  soul  that  has  reached  the  third  and  highest 
degree,  faith  communicates  such  a  firm  convic- 
tion and  such  a  clear  view  of  the  things  which 
she  believes  that  she  appears  to  see  them  with  her 
eyes.  This  last  degree  of  faith  Fr.  Magin  doubt- 
less attained,  as  the  narrative  will  demonstrate. 


1  Hebr.  xi,  1. 

2  Sermo  2  de  Dom.  Quinq. 

3  De  Gradibus  Virtutum. 


62 


St.  Antonine,  O.  P.,  Bishop  of  Florence, 4 
enumerating  the  signs  from  which  the  depth  of  a 
person's  faith  may  be  judged,  says,  "One's  faith 
may  be  proved  to  be  great,  if,  in  the  first  place,  he 
has  an  exalted  idea  of  God."  Fr.  Magin's  view 
of  the  Divine  Majesty  must  have  been  of  the 
highest  order,  inasmuch  as  he  sacrificed  every- 
thing that  the  world  and  human  affections  cherish 
for  his  Creator  and  Savior.  For  his  God  he 
abandoned  parents,  relatives,  worldly  comforts 
and  prospects,  mother  country,  and  the  beloved 
solitude  of  his  monastery,  in  order  to  bring  the 
knowledge  of  God  to  the  rude,  dull,  and  unappre- 
ciative  Indians  of  California.  For  God's  sake, 
he  went  to  the  mountains  and  deserts  in  search 
of  heathen  natives,  in  order  to  gather  them  be- 
neath the  Cross  of  Santa  Clara,  all  the  while  tor- 
mented with  disease  and  other  sufferings  which 
would  have  disheartened  a  soul  imbued  with  less 
fervent  faith.  Only  the  deep  conviction  that 
God  was  supereminently  worthy  of  all  these  sac- 
rifices, and  many  more,  could  have  induced  the 
zealous  missionary  to  persevere  at  his  post  to  the 
•end  of  his  life,  not  only  bearing  his  afflictions  with 
cheerful  resignation,  but  adding  to  them  by  means, 
of  self-inflicted  tortures  which  cause  even  un- 
worldly hearts  to  shudder. 


4  Sum.  part  4,  tit.  8,  cap.  3,  sec.  7,  as  quoted  by 
Fr.  Palou  in  "Vida,"  315. 


63 


Eager  to  communicate  the  faith  that  makes 
happy,  and  in  obedience  to  the  missionary  regu- 
lations observed  at  all  the  California  missions,  Fr. 
Magin  would  daily  give  two  instructions  to  the 
converts,  alternately  in  Spanish  and  Indian. 
The  children  were  taught  apart  from  their  elders 
later  in  the  day.  The  holy  pastor  insisted  that 
all  should  learn  the  Christian  doctrine  well,  and 
for  that  reason  he  would  not  weary  of  the  end- 
less repetitions  demanded  by  the  dullness  of  the 
natives.  On  Sundays  and  holy  days,  and  there 
were  many  more  of  the  latter  than  now,  there 
would  be  the  sermon  during  holy  Mass  in  Span- 
ish for  both  the  colonists  and  Indians,  and  in  the 
afternoon  another  for  the  Indians  in  their  own 
language.  During  Advent  and  Lent  there 
would  be  additional  instructions  in  keeping  with 
those  seasons.  In  Lent  Fr.  Catala  would  dwell 
especially  on  Passion  of  Our  Lord,  the  Sorrows 
of  Mary,  how  to  make  the  Way  of  the  Cross, 
which  on  Fridays  would  be  held  on  the  famous 
Alameda  half-way  to  San  Jose,  how  to  make  a 
good  confession  and  how  to  receive  holy  Com- 
munion worthily ;  for  he  took  care  that  every  one 
complied  with  the  Easter  duty.  During  the  month 
of  May,  and  on  the  feasts  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
he  would  explain  and  urge  the  recital  of  the 
Rosary,  which,  with  the  Litany  of  Our  Lady,  was 
said  in  common  by  the  Indians  every  day. 

A  great  longing  possessed  the  servant  of  God 


64 


to  have  all  men  share  in  the  happiness  of  the 
Christian  faith.  For  that  purpose  "he  would  ex- 
pose his  life  to  danger,"  Nazario  Galindo  testi- 
fied, "by  walking  in  search  of  Indians.  I  have 
seen  him  go  with  my  father  as  far  as  the  San 
Joaquin  River,  about  one  hundred  miles,  in  order 
to  attract  the  pagans  to  the  mission  so  that  he 
might  teach  them  the  truths  of  religion." 
People  insisted  that  some  of  his  journeys  could 
not  have  been  accomplished  without  a  miracle  in 
view  of  the  sufferings  which  they  entailed  on  ac- 
count of  the  wretched  state  of  his  health.  His 
desire  for  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  became 
so  intense  that  there  were  those  who  claimed  that 
the  holy  missionary  had  gone  into  the  mountains 
to  instruct  and  baptize  some  poor  savages  unable 
to  reach  the  mission,  though  Fr.  Magin  at  the 
time  had  not  left  Santa  Clara  at  all ;  in  other 
words,  that  he  had  been  in  two  places  at  the 
same  time. 

After  the  converts  had  been  instructed  and 
baptized,  Fr.  Magin  saw  to  it  that  they  regulated 
their  lives  according  to  Christian  morals  and  dis- 
cipline. He  insisted  that  they  should  render 
themselves  worthy  of  the  blessings  which  faith 
bestowed.  This  was  no  easy  matter.  The  neo- 
phytes were  required  to  put  restraint  upon  their 
passions,  and  to  become  industrious  in  order  to 
earn  a  living  in  a  decent  manner.  This  was  un- 
known to  them  in  paganism.  In  truth,  the  male 


65 


Indians  regarded  labor  with  contempt,  and  any 
kind  of  restraint  as  incompatible  with  their  no- 
tions of  liberty.  Christian  faith,  however,  taught 
that  subjection  of  the  animal  instincts  resulted  in 
liberty  of  the  mind,  and  therefore  demanded  that 
the  applicant  for  admission  into  the  Christian 
community  should  change  his  pagan  habits.  Not 
a  few  of  the  neophytes,  like  the  Jews  of  old,  tired 
of  the  new  life  and  longed  for  their  former  un- 
bridled customs.  Like  a  good  shepherd  the  ser- 
vant of  God  would  follow  them  when  they  ran 
away,  in  order  to  induce  them  to  return.  Gen- 
erally he  would  succeed,  but  sometimes  to  his  in- 
tense grief  he  would  fail.  As  a  rule,  the  converts 
remained  faithful. 

The  fruit  of  his  apostolic  labors  may  be  seen  in 
the  mission  records  still  preserved  at  the  Jesuit 
College  of  Santa  Clara.  From  September  1st, 
1794,  for  instance,  to  October  27th,  1827,  after 
which  date  his  crippled  condition  made  it  impos- 
sible for  him  to  officiate,  Fr.  Magin  alone  bap- 
tized three  thousand  and  sixty-seven  persons. 
Few  of  these  were  white.  Of  this  number  fif- 
teen hundred  and  fifty-three  were  over  nine  years 
of  age,  consequently  Indian  converts ;  the  rest 
were  mostly  the  children  of  neophytes. 

From  the  exalted  view  which  Fr.  Magin  held 
about  God  Almighty  resulted  his  contempt  for 
everything  worldly  that  he  might  enjoy  the  com- 
pany of  God.  With  St.  Paul  he  could  truly  say, 


66 

"I  count  all  things  (earthly)  as  dung  that  I  may 
gain  Christ."  5  This,  according  to  St.  Antonine, 
is  the  second  sign  of  superior  faith.  It  will  stand 
out  clearly  when  we  speak  of  the  vow  of  poverty 
which  the  holy  missionary  observed  to  perfection. 

The  third  mark  of  heroic  faith  St.  Antonine 
finds  in  a  person  who  trusts  in  God  notwithstand- 
ing all  adversities.  That  Fr.  Magin's  faith  pos- 
sessed this  quality  will  become  evident  as  we  de- 
scribe his  fortitude. 

Lastly  a  person  manifests  faith  in  an  eminent 
degree  when  he  does  not  cease  performing  good 
works.  To  grow  weary  in  doing  good  and  in 
continuing  faithful  to  one's  duties  is  one  of  the 
severe  temptations  of  spiritual  life.  St.  Paul, 
having  learnt  its  danger  from  experience,  warns 
the  faithful  to  be  on  their  guard  and  "not  to  fail 
in  doing  good ;  for  in  due  time  we  shall  reap  not 
failing."  6  Doubtless  Fr.  Magin  encountered  the 
same  temptation,  and  with  him  the  trial  must 
have  been  far  more  keen,  because  of  his  almost 
lifelong  battle  with  disease.  He  lived  by  faith, 
however,  and  his  faith  was  of  the  superior  order 
which  remains  unshaken,  though  "prophecies 
shall  be  made  void,  or  tongues  shall  cease,  or 
knowledge  shall  be  destroyed."  7 


5  Philip,  iii,  8. 

6  Gal.  vi,  9;  II  Thess.  iii,  13. 

7  I  Cor.  xiii,  8. 


67 


In  his  last  years  the  servant  of  God  could  but 
painfully  limp  along  with  the  help  of  an  attend- 
ant. Nevertheless  he  insisted  on  visiting  the  sick 
in  order  to  administer  the  Sacraments,  to  give 
consolation,  or  to  provide  the  necessaries  of  life. 
He  might  indeed  have  sent  his  companion,  who 
would  gladly  have  relieved  the  infirm  missionary ; 
but  Fr.  Magin  had  not  the  heart  to  load  additional 
burdens  upon  his  assistant  as  long  as  there  was 
any  possibility  of  performing  the  work  himself. 

When,  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  the  holy 
man  could  no  more  ascend  the  pulpit,  nor  even 
stand  at  the  communion  railing  to  instruct  or 
preach,  he  would  not  dispense  himself  and  let  the 
people  go  without  hearing  something  of  God  and 
divine  truths.  Seated  in  a  chair  at  the  railing  he 
would  preach  with  his  usual  fervor  as  though 
nothing  ailed  him.  "It  happened,"  Josefa  Flores 
testified  at  the  examination  in  1884,  "that  weak- 
ness overcame  him  and  he  fainted  in  his  chair. 
People  would  then  weep  for  fear  of  losing  their 
pastor." 

The  holy  man's  style  was  very  effective,  says  a 
witness.  It  moved  the  hearts  of  sinners  to  re- 
pentance and  inspired  fear  of  God.  His  voice 
was  sonorous,  and  he  spoke  with  all  the  conviction 
and  fearlessness  of  an  apostle.  J.  A.  Forbes,  a 
Scotch  convert,  who  held  the  office  of  British 
Consul  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  who  later  acted 
as  secretary  and  as  teacher  for  Fr.  Viader,  de- 


clared  that  Fr.  Magin  spoke  like  a  man  inspired. 
"It  was  my  great  privilege,"  he  related,  "to  know 
as  zealous  a  man  as  St.  John  Chrysostom,  and  I 
think  fully  as  effective  as  a  preacher.  I  refer  to 
Fr.  Magin  Catala." 

A  great  many  witnesses,  including  Mr.  Forbes, 
according  to  his  son,  Alonzo  Forbes,  and  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Clara  Sunol,  now  of  East  Oak- 
land, related  that  on  certain  occasions,  notably 
on  Good  Friday  and  in  Lent  or  in  Advent,  the 
servant  of  God  would  take  a  small  wooden  box 
to  the  pulpit,  or  later  on  place  it  upon  the  small 
table  at  the  railing  where  he  preached.  After  a 
little  while  he  would  open  the  lid  and  startle  the 
people  by  taking  from  the  box  a  human  skull. 
He  would  place  the  hideous  thing  upon  the  lid, 
and  then  addressing  it,  he  would  call  upon  its 
owner  to  give  an  account  of  the  life  she  had  led 
and  spent  in  sin.  Intensely  agitated  himself,  the 
preacher,  in  glowing  language,  would  turn  to  the 
skull  and  exclaim :  "Where  are  now  thine  eyes,  O 
skull?  those  eyes  with  which  thou  didst  strive  to 
entrap  thy  dupes  into  thy  snares  ?  Where  are  the 
ear-rings  that  dangled  from  thine  ears?  Where 
are  those  voluptuous  lips  and  the  vile  tongue  with 
which  thou  didst  slander  thy  neighbor,  and  with 
which  thou  didst  give  expression  to  frivolous  and 
immodest  language  to  the  scandal  of  all  ?  Where 
are  now  those  painted  cheeks  with  which  thou 
wouldst  deceive  and  beguile?  Where  are  now 


69 


those  naked  arms  with  their  jeweled  bracelets? 
Where  is  that  hair  that  flowed  loosely  over  thy 
naked  shoulders,  or  was  nicely  bound  up  and  on 
which  thou  didst  waste  precious  time,  and  with 
which  thou  wert  trying  to  capture  immortal  souls 
to  lead  them  to  perdition  ?  Where  are  now  those 
costly  dresses  that  covered  thy  vain  person,  and 
by  means  of  which  thou  woulclst  make  a  showy 
appearance  among  thy  kind?  All  has  vanished 
like  the  smoke  in  the  air !  O  vanity  of  vanities ! 
They  caused  thy  damnation !  Thy  soul  is  in 
hell !" 

On  such  occasions,  said  Bernarda  Valencia  with 
others,  the  people  were  awfully  terrified  and  wept 
abundant  tears.  "Many  women,"  Mr.  Forbes 
tells  us,  "would  be  so  affected  by  the  eloquence 
of  the  priest  that  they  actually  fell  into  spasms, 
fainted,  or  would  cry  aloud  for  pardon."  Some 
claim  that  Fr.  Magin  would  add  the  remark  that 
the  person,  of  whom  the  skull  had  been  a  part, 
was  indeed  in  hell ;  that  he  knew  it ;  and  that  they 
knew  her ;  but  that  he  would  not  in  pity  for  them 
reveal  the  name.  The  holy  man's  words  also 
made  an  extraordinary  impression  whenever  he 
spoke  on  the  last  things  of  man,  death,  judgment, 
hell,  and  paradise.  His  sermons  as  a  rule  had  a 
powerful  effect,  because  everybody  knew  that  the 
preacher  was  not  declaiming,  but  thoroughly  felt 
what  he  announced  inasmuch  as  all  were  aware  of 
his  most  penitential  life. 


70 

In  preaching,  the  holy  missionary  was  espe- 
cially severe  against  gambling,  immodest  dancing, 
and  extravagance  in  dress.  Among  the  colonists 
of  those  days  these  vices  caused  no  less  distress 
and  sin  than  now.  "To  this  day,"  Mrs.  Sufiol, 
grand-daughter  of  Juan  Crisostomo,  who  acted  as 
Fr.  Magin's  mayordomo,  related  to  the  writer, 
"even  now  I  feel  the  fright,  the  horror,  aroused  in 
us  girls  at  what  Fr.  Magin  preached  on  extrava- 
gance in  dress,  as  told  us  by  my  grandfather.  In 
consequence,  neither  my  sister  nor  I  would  ever 
wear  any  jewelry." 

Sometimes,  notably  in  Lent,  when  speaking  on 
the  Passion  of  Our  Lord,  Fr.  Magin  would  seize 
the  crucifix,  which  he  always  wore  on  his  breast, 
and  would  hold  such  tender  dialogue  with  his 
Crucified  Love  that  the  audience  were  moved  to 
tears  of  repentance. 

The  holy  missionary  would  not  only  instruct 
his  people  in  the  faith  and  the  duties  which  it 
imposes,  but  he  also  warned  them  against  the 
dangers  that  would  beset  their  faith.  Whether 
he  read  the  signs  of  the  times,  or  whether  Al- 
mighty God  allowed  him  to  see  far  ahead  into  the 
future,  it  is  impossible  to  determine ;  but  in  his 
anxiety  for  the  preservation  of  the  faith  which 
he  cherished,  Fr.  Magin  warned  Indians  and 
colonists  to  love  their  religion  and  to  instil  it 
into  the  hearts  of  their  children.  "Other  re- 
ligions," said  he,  "will  appear  which  are  not  of 


71 


God.  They  will  erect  houses  of  false  worship 
and  will  teach  different  doctrines  which  you  have 
not  heard  from  me.  Many  of  you  will  grow  cold 
in  the  faith,  and  will  give  up  practising  your  re- 
ligion." Nearly  all  those  that  bore  witness  at  the 
official  examination  gave  testimony  to  this 
prophecy,  or  whatever  it  may  be  called.  His 
announcement,  at  all  events,  demonstrated  how 
deep  was  his  own  conviction  and  how  solicitous 
he  was  to  have  the  "faith  more  precious  than 
gold"  8  preserved  in  his  people  and  their  descend- 
ants because  eternal  salvation  depended  upon  it. 

The  result  of  this  incessant  care  that  his  people 
should  know  God  and  their  religious  duties  thor- 
oughly was  observed  many  years  after  the  holy 
man's  death.  Rev.  Benedict  Picardo,  S.  J.,  who 
for  thirty  years  labored  in  California  as  mission- 
ary and  who  at  the  time  was  assistant  priest  at 
Santa  Clara  Mission,  testified:  "I  have  always 
found  the  faith  most  firmly  established  in  all,  and 
never  was  it  shaken  by  adversities,  error,  or  here- 
sies ;  never  have  I  heard  that  an  Indian  or  a  Cali- 
fornian  (Mexican)  renounced  it;  and,  though 
very  many  fell  into  vices  and  scandals,  they  never 
denied  their  faith,  and  at  least  in  peril  of  death 
they  always  asked  for  the  aids  of  religion." 

Juan  Crisostomo  Galindo,  Fr.  Magin's  steward, 
general  helper  and  close  imitator,  though  he  could 

8  I  Pet.  i,  7. 


72 


neither  read  nor  write,  had  an  extraordinary 
memory.  He  could  recite  all  the  prayers  and 
hymns  which  the  servant  of  God  used,  and  could 
moreover  quote  long  passages  from  the  sermons. 
Much  that  we  know  of  the  holy  missionary  of 
Santa  Clara  comes  through  this  faithful  disciple. 
"On  every  occasion,"  his  granddaughter  told  the 
writer,  "my  grandfather  would  exhort  us  to  ad- 
here to  our  faith,  and  to  pray  for  a  strong  faith, 
for  so  Fr.  Magin  had  taught  the  people.  It  is 
therefore  so  strong  in  me  that  it  could  not  be  de- 
stroyed. I  feel  it  in  me  strong,  now.  Every 
night  till  twelve  I  am  on  my  knees  saying  the 
prayers  and  the  rosary  which  my  grandfather 
taught  us  children  as  coming  from  the  holy  man 
of  Santa  Clara.  I  therefore  loved  Fr.  Magin, 
though  I  did  not  know  him  and  have  never  seen 
him." 

Pope  Benedict  XIV  mentions  a  few  other 
marks  of  a  superior  faith,  which  we  shall  touch 
but  briefly.  The  first  is  the  external  profession 
of  what  one  believes  interiorly.  Inasmuch  as 
every  act  of  virtue,  according  to  St.  Thomas  9  is 
in  a  manner  a  solemn  avowal  of  one's  faith,  the 
whole  life  of  Fr.  Magin  was  one  uninterrupted 
exercise  of  intense  faith,  because  it  was  an  un- 
broken chain  of  most  fervent  acts  of  virtue. 

Secondly,  the  learned  Pope  says,  the  faith  of  a 


92.  2dae,  q.   124,  art.  5. 


73 


person  may  be  inferred  from  the  exactitude  with 
which  he  observes  the  Commandments  of  God 
and  the  Church.  Not  only  would  the  servant  of 
God,  Fr.  Magin,  keep  the  Commandments  and 
Precepts  faithfully,  but  he  zealously  urged  all 
under  his  care  to  do  likewise.  He  would,  if 
necessary,  correct  and  chastise  the  wilfully  de- 
linquent; but  in  order  to  do  so  justly  he  would 
allow  no  one  to  remain  ignorant  of  his  obligations 
towards  God,  the  Church,  the  neighbors,  and  him- 
self. No  one  ever  accused  the  holy  man  of  not 
observing  what  he  demanded  of  others. 

A  most  conclusive  sign  of  divine  faith  Pope 
Benedict  mentions  in  the  third  place.  It  is  close 
union  with  God  in  prayer.  All  the  witnesses  bear 
testimony  to  the  holy  missionary's  love  of  prayer. 
Wherever  he  went  he  appeared  to  be  lost  in  de- 
votion, his  lips  would  be  seen  to  move,  and  he 
was  heard  uttering  devout  aspirations.  Prayer 
was  one  of  his  common  subjects  of  instruction. 
While  journeying  alone,  or  in  company  with 
others,  he  would  be  conversing  with  God.  He 
would  also  urge  his  attendants  to  join  him  in 
reciting  the  rosary  while  wandering  along  the 
road  in  search  of  converts  or  when  visiting  the 
sick.  The  rosary  hanging  at  his  side  was  not  a 
mere  ornament.  He  recited  it  frequently.  When 
he  had  died  some  one  took  it  away  and  prized  it 
as  a  most  precious  relic.  In  the  course  of  time 
it  was  lost ;  only  the  little  cross  attached  to  the 


74 


rosary  was  recovered  and  is  preserved  at  the  Col- 
lege of  Santa  Clara. 

Finally,  St.  Thomas  of  Aquino  points  to  the 
working  of  miracles  as  an  evidence  of  true  and 
heroic  faith.  Though  it  is  not  necessary  by  any 
means  that  the  candidate  for  the  honors  of  the 
altar  should  have  worked  miracles  while  alive, 
Fr.  Magin  in  this  respect  is  not  found  wanting, 
as  will  become  evident  when  we  treat  the  subject 
in  its  proper  place.  From  what  has  been  related 
it  is  clear  that  the  faith  of  Fr.  Magin  Catala  was 
like  that  of  Moses  who  "looked  unto  the  reward," 
"for  he  endured  as  seeing  Him  that  is  in- 
visible." 10 


10  Hebr.  xi,  26,  27. 


HOPE. 

"Let  us  hold  fast  the  confession  of  our  hope  -with- 
out wavering,  for  he  is  faithful 
who  hath  promised." 

(Hebr.  x,  23.) 

According  to  St.  Bernard, x  "in  as  far  as 
one  believes  in  so  far  does  he  hope." 
Hence,  we  may  infer  the  degree  of  Fr.  Magin's 
hope  from  the  quality  of  his  faith ;  for  hope  pro- 
ceeds from  faith  like  the  rays  from  the  sun. 
This  noble  virtue,  the  first-born  child  of  faith, 
by  means  of  which,  relying  upon  the  goodness 
and  promises  of  God,  we  expect  to  obtain  life 
everlasting,  is  implanted  in  baptism.  It  grows 
with  the  years  in  proportion  as  faith  increases. 
It  raises  the  heart  of  the  earthly  pilgrim  heaven- 
ward to  Him  who  "continueth  faithful,"  and  who 
"cannot  deny  Himself."  2  In  this  virtue  lies  the 
motive  power  which  carries  the  soul  towards  its 
supernatural  destiny,  and  the  strength  which  over- 
comes all  difficulties  of  mortal  life.  Hope,  ac- 
cording to  St.  Bonaventure,  -is  the  strong  column 
which  is  placed  upon  the  solid  pedestal  faith,  and 
thus  upholds  the  entire  spiritual  superstructure. 
It  was  this  hope  of  a  better  life  to  come  which 


1  Dom.  in  Pass. 
211  Tim.  ii,  13. 


76 


prompted  young  Catala  to  abandon  the  vanities 
of  the  world  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen  in  order 
to  consecrate  himself  to  the  service  of  God  who 
rewards  superabundantly.  As  further  proof  of 
the  hope  which  animated  him,  it  is  enough  to 
point  to  his  conduct  throughout  the  years  of  his 
bodily  infirmities.  His  physical  ailments  were 
coeval  with  his  ministry  in  California.  They 
would  have  disheartened  any  ordinary  man  and 
would  have  caused  him  to  leave  his  post  in  des- 
pair of  doing  any  good.  Fr.  Magin  could  well 
apply  to  his  own  condition  the  words  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, "Justly  to  me  hope  is  strong  in  that 
Thou  wilt  cure  my  languors  through  Him  who 
sitteth  at  Thy  Right  and  appeals  to  Thee  for  us ; 
otherwise  I  should  despair.  Many  also  and  great 
are  my  languors,  but  more  powerful  is  Thy 
medicine."  3 

This  absolute  confidence  in  God,  coupled  with 
good  faith,  at  length,  produced  in  the  heart  of 
Fr.  Magin  an  intense  longing  to  possess  his  be- 
loved Savior  in  heaven.  It  was  akin  to  that  of 
St.  Paul,  who  wished  to  be  dissolved  in  order  to 
be  with  Christ. 4  An  incident,  for  which  Jose 
Antonio  Alviso  vouches,  will  illustrate  this.  One 
day  during  Holy  Week  the  servant  of  God  knelt 
at  his  customary  place  before  the  great  Crucifix 


3  Confes.   lib.  x,  cap.  43,  torn.  i. 

4  Philip  i,  23. 


77 


in  the  church  of  Santa  Clara.  Besides  Alviso, 
several  other  persons  were  present  performing 
their  private  devotions.  Suddenly  Fr.  Magin 
was  heard  to  sigh  aloud  in  Spanish,  "When,  O  my 
God,  shall  I  see  Thy  glory?  How  much  longer 
shall  my  banishment  last  in  this  valley  of  tears  ?"  5 
Awe-stricken,  Alviso  heard  the  answer  coming 
from  the  cross,  "Soon  thou  shalt  see  God  in 
glory."  6  "Jose  A.  Alviso,"  my  informant  Alonzo 
Forbes,  now  Justice  of  the  Peace  at  Jolon,  Cali- 
fornia, affirms,  "was  a  man  of  unimpeachable 
veracity.  His  integrity  was  never  questioned. 
He  possessed  more  than  average  intelligence,  and 
was  the  head  of  a  large  family." 

When  we  reflect,  as  St.  Bonaventure  teaches,  7 
that  acts  of  virtue  are  so  many  acts  of  hope,  we 
can  readily  understand  that  Fr.  Magin's  life  must 
have  been  a  continuous  exercise  of  this  most  noble 
virtue.  Nothing,  say  the  Auditors  in  the  Proc- 
ess of  Canonization  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  de- 
monstrates more  effectively  the  hope  of  any  one 
than  the  exercise  of  good  works  and  of  virtuous 
acts.  Pope  Benedict, 8  adding  his  confirmation  to 
this  declaration  of  the  Auditors,  remarks  that  "all 


5  "Hasta  cuando,  Dios  mio,  vere  tu  gloria?     Que 
tanto    mas    durara    mi    destierro    en    este    valle    de 
lagrimas?" 

6  "Pronto  veras  a  Dios  en  la  gloria." 
73  Sent.  dist.  26,  q.  4. 

8  Lib.  iii  de  Canon.  SS.  cap.  23,  sec.  2,  num.  16. 


78 


good  works  argue  hope,  and  all  good,  excellent, 
and  sublime  works  demonstrate  excellent,  sublime, 
and  heroic  hope."  Fr.  Magin's  life  was  a  long 
chain  of  good  works  performed  under  peculiarly 
distressing  circumstances,  through  which  only 
heroic  virtue  could  have  sustained  him.  Never- 
theless, as  one  who  knew  him  well  testified,  our 
servant  of  God  was  never  seen  discouraged.  In 
all  untoward  occurrences  and  conditions  he 
would  put  his  trust  in  God,  and  in  his  sermons  he 
frequently  exhorted  his  hearers  to  trust  in  God, 
no  matter  what  happened. 


CHARITY. 

"The   charity   of   God   is  poured   out   into   our 
hearts."     (Rom.  v,  5.) 

1.     LOVE  OF  GOD. 

N  the  opinion  of  St.  Gregory, l  the  degree  of 
one's  faith  and  hope  is  also  the  degree  of 
one's  love  of  God.  As  both  faith  and  hope  of 
Fr.  Magin  appear  to  have  been  heroic,  his  charity 
could  not  have  been  less.  "Charity  the  Great 
Apostle  2  rightly  calls  the  bond  of  perfection,"  St. 
Gregory  writes,  3  "because  the  other  virtues  in- 
deed generate  perfection,  but  charity  links  them 
together  in  such  a  manner  that  they  can  not  be 
separated  from  the  mind  of  the  lover.  "Charity," 
St.  Proclus,  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  exclaims, 
"is  the  climax  of  our  holy  religion."  4  "Now  re- 
main faith,  hope,  and  charity,  these  three,  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  charity,"  St.  Paul  declares.  5 

The  marks  by  means  of  which  the  heroism  of 
this  queen  of  virtues  may  be  recognized  are 
enumerated  by  Pope  Benedict  XIV.6  The  first 
is  zeal  for  the  Divine  Worship  to  the  end  that 


1  Horn.  22  in  Ezech. 

2  Colos.  iii,  14. 

3  Regist.  lib.  4,  ind.  13,  cap.  95. 

4  Quoted  by  Palou. 

5  I  Cor.  xiii,  13. 

6  Can.  Sanct.,  de  not.  et  sig.,  lib.  3,  sec.  3,  cap.  3. 


80 


God  may  be  loved  and  glorified  by  all.  This 
implies,  first  of  all,  a  tender  affection  for  the 
house  of  God,  or  the  place  of  Divine  Worship. 
Christ,  our  Lord,  Himself  manifested  this 
quality  of  true  love  of  God  in  a  striking  man- 
ner. Not  only  did  He  observe  the  ceremonies 
prescribed  by  the  Law  of  Moses  in  every  par- 
ticular, but  we  know  Him  to  have  twice  shown 
Himself  highly  indignant  to  the  extent  of  em- 
ploying physical  force,  when  He  noticed  that  the 
mere  vestibule  of  the  temple  of  God  was  put  to 
other  than  religious  uses,  "and  He  suffered  not 
that  any  man  should  carry  a  vessel  through  the 
temple."  7 

A  similar  reverence  for  the  house  of  God 
controlled  Fr.  Magin.  Usually  all  the  work 
about  the  mission  churches  and  the  dwellings  of 
the  Fathers  was  performed  by  male  Indians. 
They  also  would  serve  at  the  altar  and  sing  in  the 
choir.  For  both  these  services  the  servant  of 
God  instructed  and  drilled  the  youths  himself. 
However,  for  washing  the  linen  used  at  the  altar 
Fr.  Magin  engaged  an  intelligent  Spanish  lady, 
the  mother  of  his  friend  Juan  Crisostomo,  in 
order  that  everything  about  the  sanctuary  might 
appear  worthy  of  the  Sacramental  God,  ever 
present  in  the  Tabernacle.  Another  practise  ob- 
served at  Santa  Clara  gives  evidence  of  Fr. 

7  Mark    xi,  16. 


81 


Magin's  deep  reverence  for  the  sacred  place.  The 
male  Indians,  especially  during  their  festivities, 
and  the  pagans  generally,  would  wear  feathers, 
ribbons,  and  other  gaudy  decorations  on  their 
heads.  Whenever  they  arrived  at  the  church 
these  Indians  had  to  remove  all  their  ornaments, 
for  the  holy  man  would  not  permit  them  to  en- 
ter the  sacred  edifice  save  absolutely  bareheaded. 
The  Indian  women  and  girls,  on  the  other  hand, 
wore  a  shawl  over  their  heads,  whilst  Span- 
ish ladies  invariably  covered  themselves  with  a 
mantilla  or  black  veil.  Every  one  that  entered 
the  church  would  dip  the  fingers  in  the  holy 
water  vase  and  in  Spanish  say  reverently,  "Holy 
water,  blessed  by  God,  cleanse  my  body  and 
save  my  soul."  Then  making  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  the  worshiper  would  say,  "By  the  sign 
of  the  holy  Cross  deliver  us,  O  Lord,  our  God, 
from  our  enemies."  It  is  not  probable  that  this 
practise  originated  with  Fr.  Magin,  but  he  evi- 
dently fostered  it  among  the  neophytes  and  oth- 
ers, since  it  was  general  at  his  time. 

From  T  omasa  Hernandez,  the  daughter  of  a 
soldier,  and  from  Felix  Buelna,  who  served  Fr. 
Magin  at  the  altar,  we  have  the  information  that 
the  servant  of  God  would  celebrate  the  holy 
Sacrifice  of  Mass  slowly  and  with  extraordinary 
devotion.  Felix  asserts  that  Fr.  Magin  on  such 
occasions  seemed  to  be  in  ecstasy.  It  is  unfortu- 
nate that  the  examiners  failed  to  question  the 


82 


many  eye-witnesses  about  the  holy  missionary's 
observance  of  the  rubrics,  ceremonies,  his  manner 
of  administering  the  Sacraments,  his  conduct 
while  performing  other  religious  and  ecclesias- 
tical functions,  and  many  other  little  things.  Save 
the  accidental  remarks  of  Buelna  and  Tomasa 
Hernandez,  which  do  not  even  appear  in  the 
official  record,  though  they  were  corroborated 
much  later  by  the  grand-daughter  of  Juan  Cri- 
sostomo  Galindo,  no  information  on  those  points 
has  come  down  to  us.  Yet  the  holiness  or  world- 
liness  of  a  person  is  probably  nowhere  more 
quickly  detected  than  in  the  reverence  or  irrever- 
ence displayed  while  performing  the  slightest  re- 
ligious or  ecclesiastical  function.  This  evidence 
is  far  clearer  than  the  working  of  miracles.  A 
Judas  could  work  miracles,  and  evil  spirits  may 
effect  prodigies,  but  nowhere  as  in  the  sacred 
ceremonies  does  a  person  show  that  he  is  filled 
with  awe  for  the  Divine  Majesty  for  whose  sake 
the  smallest  rubrics  are  prescribed.  By  way  of 
illustration  two  instances  from  the  lives  of  saints 
will  suffice.  St.  Teresa  was  in  the  habit  of  say- 
ing that  she  should  have  her  head  cut  off  rather 
than  omit  the  reverent  inclination  of  the  head 
at  the  Gloria  Patri.  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  directs 
his  sons  to  pick  up  and  to  put  in  a  decent  place 
scraps  of  paper  which  happened  to  contain  the 
Name  of  Jesus  or  other  sacred  words.  Rever- 
ence is,  indeed,  written  all  over  the  lives  of  the 


83 


true  servants  of  God.  It  is  a  distinctive  mark 
of  deep  faith  and  genuine  love  of  God.  Hence 
we  must  conclude  from  the  whole  character  of 
the  man  that  Fr.  Magin  excelled  in  exactitude 
and  reverence  with  regard  to  everything  that 
pertained  to  the  worship  of  God. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  evident  that  the 
holy  man  must  have  been  filled  with  a  tender 
devotion  for  Jesus  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  since 
he  was  so  particular  to  impress  the  Indians  as 
well  as  the  colonists  with  a  sense  of  the  sanctity 
of  the  very  building  under  the  roof  of  which 
Christ  dwells  hidden  beneath  the  Sacred  Species. 
Fr.  Magin  also  celebrated  Holy  Thursday,  and 
above  all  Corpus  Christi  Day,  with  all  the  splen- 
dor possible  in  order  to  make  his  dull  Indians 
grasp  the  wronderful  truth  that  here  is  truly  "the 
tabernacle  of  God  with  men,"  8  and  that  there  is 
"no  other  nation  so  great  that  hath  gods  so  nigh, 
as  our  God  is  present  to  all  our  petitions."  9  At 
Santa  Clara  Fr.  Magin,  on  Corpus  Christi  Day, 
had  three  altars  erected  outside  the  church  at  some 
distances  apart.  The  procession  would  pass  out 
through  the  front  door,  make  a  stop  at  every  one 
of  the  three  altars,  and  then  return  through  the 
puerta  de  costado,  or  side  door,  which  was  with- 
in a  few  feet  of  Fr.  Magin's  room.  The  Indians 

8  Apoc.  xxi,  3. 

9  Deuter.  iv,  7. 


84 


would  sing  the  hymns  in  Latin  as  prescribed. 
Juan  Crisostomo  would  swing  the  censer. 

Like  St.  Paul,  who  exclaimed,  "I  judge  myself 
to  know  nothing  among  you,  but  Jesus  Christ 
and  Him  Crucified,"  10  and  like  his  holy  Father 
St.  Francis,  Fr.  Magin  appears  to  have  centered 
all  his  affections  in  Christ  Crucified.  At  the 
foot  of  the  great  Crucifix,  which  still  looks  down 
upon  the  devout  visitor,  the  zealous  missionary 
sought  inspiration  as  to  what  he  should  preach, 
guidance  out  of  his  difficulties,  consolation  for 
the  waywardness  of  his  flock,  strength  to  perse- 
vere, and  even  rest  for  the  body.  Instead  of 
retiring  to  his  cell,  he  frequently  would  pass 
the  night  before  his  Lord  on  the  Cross,  lost  in 
meditation,  or  sighing  for  deliverance  with  St. 
Paul,  until  nature  demanded  recognition  and  he 
fell  asleep  where  he  knelt.  Often  the  faithful 
Juan  Crisostomo  would  thus  find  his  pastor  on 
opening  the  doors  in  the  morning.  It  was  com- 
mon talk  among  the  Indians  and  colonists  that 
these  nightly  vigils  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross  were 
not  without  wonderful  occurrences. 

Naturally,  the  Sufferings  of  the  Savior  very 
often  furnished  the  subject  for  the  holy  man's 
sermons  and  instructions,  since  his  mind  and 
heart  were  so  absorbed  by  his  Crucified  Love 
that  he  seemed  to  feel  at  home  nowhere  save  at 

10  I  Cor.  ii,  2. 


THE    FAMOUS   CRUCIFIX    IN    THE    CHURCH    OF    SANTA   CLAR 


* 


85 


the  feet  of  the  Crucified.  He  sought  by  every 
means  to  excite  a  similar  devotion  for  the  Pas- 
sion of  our  Redeemer  in  the  hearts  of  all,  and 
therefore,  besides  preaching  on  the  subject,  he 
had  the  Stations  of  the  Cross  erected  along  the 
Alameda  halfway  to  San  Jose.  Every  Friday 
Fr.  Magin  with  the  Indians  would  begin  the 
Way  of  the  Cross  before  the  altar  in  church  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  then  visit 
every  station  in  turn.  The  great  Crucifix,  at  his 
time,  was  borne  in  this  procession  by  Ignacio 
Alviso.  He  was  supported  by  an  attendant  on 
either  side,  and  they  doubtless  relieved  him  by 
turns,  as  the  image  is  very  heavy.  In  Holy  Week 
the  servant  of  God  discarded  his  sandals  and 
walked  the  whole  distance  barefooted. 

He  moreover  taught  the  people  to  foster  a 
tender  devotion  for  the  Most  Precious  Blood  of 
Jesus,  and  for  this  purpose  instructed  them  to 
recite  a  little  prayer  to  the  Precious  Blood  in 
connection  with  their  night  prayers.  Similarly 
the  zealous  pastor  tried  to  implant  into  the 
hearts  of  the  children  a  deep  hatred  for  sin 
which  caused  the  shedding  of  our  Lord's  Blood. 
To  that  end  he  taught  them  a  little  verse  expres- 
sive of  horror  for  having  offended  Jesus. 

In  this  connection  a  custom  which  obtained 
at  Santa  Clara  may  find  place  here.  Whether 
it  originated  with  the  holy  man  it  is  impossible 
to  determine,  but  he  certainly  encouraged  it. 


86 


After  the  Consecration  in  holy  Mass,  everyone  in 
the  congregation  would  extend  the  arms  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  after  the  manner  in  vogue 
among  the  Franciscans,  and  in  this  position  they 
united  their  devotion  with  the  priest  at  the  altar 
until  about  the  end  of  the  Pater  Noster.  Better 
than  words  this  beautiful  and  expressive  cere- 
mony just  at  that  period  must  have  impressed 
the  slow  comprehension  of  the  Indians  with  the 
Real  Presence  of  the  Savior  upon  the  altar. 

A  man  so  full  of  love  and  sympathy  for 
Christ  Jesus  could  not  help  being  devoted  to 
the  Blessed  Mother  of  Jesus.  Every  morning 
the  whole  Indian  population  would  assemble  for 
their  morning  prayers  in  the  enclosure  before 
the  church.  There  the  holy  man,  first  of  all, 
would  intone  and  sing  with  his  neophytes  a 
sweet  little  hymn  to  the  Mother  of  God.11  At 
night  the  Indians  similarly  in  common,  the 
colonists  in  their  family  circle,  recited  the  Ros- 
ary and  Litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  sang 
appropriate  hymns  to  Mary  Immaculate.  The 
month  of  Mary  and  the  feasts  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  were  celebrated  with  particular  splendor 
just  as  now  and  for  centuries  past.  It  was  all 
very  childlike,  very  tender,  but  it  forcibly  aroused 
the  natives  as  well  as  others  to  a  realization  of 
the  beauty  of  purity  and  sinlessness.  Withal, 


11  See  Appendix  B. 


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no  others  love  the  Savior  so  ardently,  and  no 
others  try  so  hard  not  to  offend  Him,  as  do 
those  that  are  filled  with  affection  for  His 
Mother.  Fr.  Magin  himself,  as  Juan  Crisos- 
tomo  relates,  would  not  take  a  drink  of  water 
without  saying  three  times  "Ave  Maria."  Juan 
Crisostomo,  who  in  everything  endeavored  to 
imitate  Fr.  Magin,  followed  the  same  custom, 
whence  it  is  that  his  grand-daughter  learned 
such  practises  and  repeated  them  to  the  writer. 
Other  friends  of  God  were  likewise  objects 
of  similar  devotion  on  the  part  of  Fr.  Magin. 
The  intense  love  with  which  the  saints  on  earth 
and  the  saints  in  heaven  regard  their  God  seems 
only  to  increase  devotion  among  themselves. 
Hence  it  is  that  objection  to  the  veneration  of  the 
saints  in  heaven  comes  only  from  those  that 
are  abjectly  ignorant  on  the  subject,  or  from 
those  that  possess  nothing  in  common  with  the 
saints.  All  the  real  friends  of  God  in  the  past 
cultivated  a  great  devotion  for  the  glorified 
heroes  of  God  in  heaven,  since  they  well  knew 
the  value  of  their  intercession.  They  would 
occasionly  take  a  lively  interest  in  spreading 
devotion  to  their  patron  or  favorite  saints,  as  we 
see  from  the  lives  of  St.  Alphonsus  and  St. 
John  Capistrano.  The  latter  exerted  himself 
to  the  utmost  to  have  Bernardine  of  Siena  can- 
onized. The  witnesses  and  examiners  at  the 
former  investigation  overlooked  this  feature  in 


89- 


Fr.  Magin's  life,  but,  thanks  to  the  extraordinary 
memory  of  Juan  Crisostomo  Galindo,  we  have 
prayers  in  honor  of  several  saints  which  the  ser- 
vant of  God  taught  his  people  to  use.  One  little 
devotion  is  directed  to  God  in  honor  of  St.  Emig- 
dio  for  the  purpose  of  having  earthquakes  averted 
through  that  saint's  intercession.  A  long  prayer 
is  in  honor  of  the  saint  of  the  respective  day. 
Another  devotional  exercise  consists  of  the  well- 
know  "Responses"  to  St.  Anthony  of  Padua. 

A  devotion  very  dear  to  every  Catholic  is 
the  tender  affection  for  one's  own  Guardian 
Angel.  The  servant  of  God,  accordingly,  urged 
his  Indians  and  the  colonists  never  to  forget 
the  good,  watchful  spirit  ever  at  their  side,  and 
daily  to  recite  a  prayer  to  this  faithful  celestial 
friend. 

Nor  were  the  dead  forgotten.  We  have 
few  particulars,  owing  to  the  oversight  of  the 
examiners,  but  from  the  fact  that  the  descend- 
ants of  those  that  heard  and  saw  the  servant  of 
God  preserved  an  ardent  affection  for  the  Poor 
Souls  in  Purgatory,  made  Novenas  in  their  be- 
half, and  had  holy  Masses  celebrated  for  them, 
we  can  gather  that  Fr.  Magin  himself  must  have 
taught  and  practised  as  much.  At  any  rate,  he 
had  the  bell  of  Santa  Clara  toll  for  the  dead 
every  evening  at  eight  o'clock.  This  was  the 
sign  for  Indians  and  colonists  to  withdraw  to 
their  homes,  say  the  prayers  for  the  dead,  and 


90 


perform  their  night  devotions,  which  usually  con- 
sisted of  the  Rosary  and  Litany  with  a  number 
of  other  prayers  and  some  hymns.12 

Another  sign  of  true  love  of  God  is  the  fond- 
ness manifested  for  hearing  or  reading  about 
God  and  divine  truths.  We  have  already  seen 
that  Fr.  Magin  never  tired  of  speaking  about 
the  Creator  and  Savior  of  mankind,  and  that 
his  instructions  embraced  all  the  truths  of  the 
Catholic  Catechism.  In  this  respect  he  was  a 
true  apostle,  as  Fr.  Vincente  de  Sarria  and  Fr. 
Mariano  Payeras,  Franciscan  commissaries  of 
California,  reported  to  the  higher  superiors  in 
Mexico.  It  is  superfluous  to  dwell  upon  this  fur- 
ther. "He  that  is  of  God,  heareth  the  words 
of  God,"  1S  is  a  mark  of  affection  for  God  which 
Christ  Himself  indicated. 

There  are  other  characteristics  that  distinguish 
the  true  lover  of  God,  which  may  as  well  be 
omitted  here,  inasmuch  as  they  are  included  in 
what  has  already  been  said  or  may  be  related 
further  on.  We  shall  dwell  upon  but  two  more. 
They  are  indicative  of  every  true  saint,  and 
they  are  pointed  out  by  Christ  Himself.  "Greater 
love  than  this  no  man  hath  that  a  man  lay  down 
his  life  for  his  friends."  14  Fr.  Magin,  not  merely 
by  one,  albeit  most  painful,  act  gave  his  life  for 


12  See  Appendix  C. 

13  John  viii,  47. 

14  John  xv,  13. 


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92 


his  God,  but  like  Christ  he  sacrificed  all  the  days 
of  his  monastic  and  missionary  existence  through 
a  chain  of  most  distressing  circumstances  and 
difficulties.  For  thirty-four  years,  that  is  to 
say,  almost  immediately  after  entering  upon  his 
missionary  career  in  California,  the  servant  of 
God  suffered  the  tortures  of  most  excruciating 
infirmities,  working  all  the  while  with  restless 
zeal  for  rude  Indians  and  unappreciative  colon- 
ists. At  the  same  time  he  would  observe  the 
Rules  of  his  Order  and  the  Constitution  of  his 
College  faithfully.  Then,  still  thirsting  for  suf- 
ferings, he  invented  other  means  of  mortifica- 
tion and  self-denial  in  order  to  imitate  his  Love 
and  in  a  manner  to  compensate  Christ  for  the 
sufferings  undergone  in  behalf  of  mankind. 

Love  of  prayer,  and  especially  contemplative 
prayer,  is  one  of  the  surest  signs  of  a  heroic 
love  of  God.  In  this  particular  Fr.  Magin  ex- 
celled, as  we  have  already  had  occasion  to  learn. 
The  very  children  were  aware  of  this  trait,  and 
held  him  in  awe  as  one  who  communed^  with 
Almighty  God.  They  would  peep  through  the 
keyhole  or  the  cracks  in  the  front  door  of  the 
church,  in  order  to  watch  the  holy  man  at  prayer 
before  the  altar  of  the  great  Crucifix.  Some- 
times they  heard  him  speak  aloud  to  the  Cruci- 
fied. Awe-struck  the  little  Indian  boys  and 
girls  would  whisper  while  going  away,  "The 
Father  is  talking  to  God !" 


93 


A  man  so  much  given  to  commune  with  his 
Savior  would  naturally  endeavor  to  excite  his 
people  to  cherish  a  similar  love  for  prayer,  inas- 
much as  it  makes  the  friends  of  God  fancy  them- 
selves in  heaven,  so  that  it  requires  a  strong  ef- 
fort on  their  part  to  disengage  themselves  from 
its  raptures.  It  makes  them  seem  to  anticipate 
their  occupation  in  heaven,  as  St.  Francis  of 
Assist,  one  of  the  greatest  contemplatives,  in- 
sinuates in  these  words :  "When  we  pray,  we 
speak  to  God,  and  God  speaks  to  us.  We  then 
already  lead  the  life  of  the  angels  in  heaven,  for 
then  at  least  we  are  in  the  society  of  angels." 

"On  one  occasion,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "when 
it  had  grown  very  late  and  Fr.  Magin  was  still 
before  the  Crucifix  in  church,  as  was  his  custom, 
Fr.  Jose  Viader,  the  assistant,  went  to  him  and 
very  gently  said,  "Father,  it  is  enough  now ;  it  is 
already  very  late."  The  servant  of  God  allowed 
himself  to  be  led  away,  but  reluctantly  as  we 
may  well  believe,  from  his  beloved  conversation 
with  his  Lord.  An  attendant  asserted  that  Fr. 
Magin  never  went  to  bed ;  but  that  he  would  re- 
main on  his  knees  praying  until  sleep  over- 
powered him,  and  he  fell  asleep  just  where  he 
was,  in  the  church  or  in  his  cell.  In  fact,  when 
he  was  wanted  and  could  be  found  nowhere, 
he  would  certainly  be  in  church  at  his  chosen 
place.  What  has  been  related  will  suffice  to  de- 
monstrate that  Fr.  Magin  was  possessed  of  an  all- 


94 


absorbing  love  for  God.     We  now  turn  to  his 
love    for   fellowmen. 

2.     LOVE  OF  NEIGHBOR. 

"My  little  children,  let  us  not  love  in  zuord,  nor 
in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and  in  truth." 

(I  John  Hi,  18.) 

The  servant  of  God  opened  his  heart  in  ex- 
traordinary love  not  only  towards  his  Creator 
and  Savior,  but,  obeying  Christ's  command,  he 
in  a  similar  manner  embraced  all  fellow  men. 
If  other  evidence  were  wanting,  his  apostolic 
labors  would  demonstrate  the  high  order  of  his 
charity.  Much  of  what  has  been  said  under  the 
head  of  Faith  applies  here.  What  the  several 
witnesses  repeated  under  oath  concerning  Fr. 
Magin's  effusive  affection  for  the  living  images 
of  God,  which  made  him  toil  and  suffer  as  he 
did  for  the  very  savages,  not  after  the  manner 
of  calculating  philanthropists,  but  because  in 
every  human  being  he  recognized  the  picture  of 
the  Creator,  sets  the  virtue  of  Christian  charity 
as  practised  by  the  holy  missionary  in  the  clear- 
est light.  He  would  hasten  to  alleviate  the  bod- 
ily as  well  as  spiritual  necessities  of  every  one. 
He  would  make  his  way  painfully  to  the  hovels 
of  the  pagans,  send  or  carry  eatables  and  clo- 
thing, and  by  his  persuasive,  gentle  manner  pre- 
vail upon  them  to  avail  themselves  of  the  means 
of  salvation  under  the  shadow  of  the  mission 


95 


cross.  If  they  refused,  he  would  yet  bear  with 
their  ignorance  and  rudeness,  and  endeavor  by 
every  means  possible  to  gain  at  least  the  little 
ones.  If  the  elders  submitted,  he  would  treat 
them  still  more  tenderly,  and  lead  them  to  Santa 
Clara  rejoicing  that  he  had  won  over  so  many 
sheep  for  his  Divine  Master. 

As  his  charity  perceived  the  damage  wrought 
by  sin  in  the  souls  of  his  wards,  it  also  impelled 
the  solicitous  pastor  to  advise  and  urge  his  flock, 
in  season  and  out  of  season,  to  adopt  Christian 
habits,  to  detest  vice  and  disorder,  to  practise 
virtue,  to  avoid  the  occasions  of  sin,  and  to  fre- 
quent the  Sacraments,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
strength  necessary  to  cope  with  temptations. 
According  to  Spanish  laws  and  the  happy  sys- 
tem in  vogue  in  the  missions  of  the  Pacific  Coast, 
the  missionary  towards  his  converted  Indians 
stood  in  the  capacity  of  father  to  his  children. 
He  had  to  feed,  clothe  and  teach  them ;  he  had 
also  to  shield  and  correct  them.  Fr.  Magin 
treated  all  very  kindly  as  all  the  reports  show ; 
but  he  could  be  severe  when  occasions  called  for 
it,  though  that  occurred  very  rarely.  Before 
the  Ecclesiastical  Court  in  1884,  Nazario  Ga- 
lindo,  then  seventy-four  years  of  age,  related 
this  incident:  "Once  he  ordered  that  I  should 
be  whipped.  The  discipline  had  knots  in  it.  I 
said  to  him,  'Father,  this  hurts  awfully.'  'Of 
course  it  does,'  he  replied ;  'but  the  pains  of  hell 


96 


hurt  still  more.'  ':      Nevertheless,  all  loved  and 
revered  Fr.  Magin. 

The  children  engaged  Fr.  Magin's  particular 
attention.  He  took  great  pains  to  have  them 
well  instructed.  For  them  he  had  only  kind 
words,  and  the  little  things  of  which  children 
are  fond,  and  with  which  their  hearts  are  so 
easily  won,  were  at  hand  as  rewards  for  learn- 
ing some  little  lesson,  or  as  presents.  Clothing, 
trinkets,  such  as  could  be  obtained  in  the  coun- 
try far  away  from  civilization,  eatables,  fruits  in 
particular,  and  above  all  the  pleasant  manner 
with  which  Fr.  Magin  bestowed  them,  soon  re- 
moved the  timidity  which  boys  and  girls  may 
have  felt  towards  the  priest  of  whom  all  spoke 
with  reverence  as  a  saint  and  prophet.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  the  witnesses,  in  their  eager- 
ness to  relate  marvelous  things  about  the  servant 
of  God,  overlooked  the  necessity  of  reporting 
more  minutely  every-day  occurrences  concern- 
ing the  holy  man  of  Santa  Clara.  We  should  be 
able  to  draw  more  lessons  from  them  than  from 
many  miracles.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  Fr. 
Magin,  who  endeavored  to  imitate  his  Divine 
Master  closely,  sought  to  win  old  and  young, 
especially  the  children,  inasmuch  as  Christ  Him- 
self extends  to  them  a  special  invitation,  and 
threatens  with  dire  consequences  those  that 
scandalize  the  little  ones.  From  Juan  Crisos- 
tomo  we  have  it  that  Fr.  Magin  arranged  re- 


97 


ligious  plays  for  the  Christmas  season  in  order 
to  imprint  the  lessons  of  Christ's  childhood  upon 
his  Indians,  who  were  only  overgrown  children 
as  far  as  intellect  was  concerned.  Those  par- 
ticipating were  Indians,  of  whom  some  would 
act  as  shepherds,  others  as  kings,  servants,  etc. 
In  this  he  showed  that  he  was  not  only  a  true 
son  of  the  Saint  of  Assisi,  but  also  an  intelligent 
missionary,  who  knew  how  to  adapt  himself  to 
the  comprehension  and  habits  of  his  converts. 

Like  his  Divine  Master,  Fr.  Magin  was  filled 
with  sympathy  for  the  poor.  The  poorest  of 
them  all,  though  placed  in  charge  of  consider- 
able wealth,  he  regarded  everything  about  the 
mission  as  the  property  of  the  neophytes.  The 
wealth,  though  it  consisted  only  of  the  land,  its 
products,  and  livestock,  had  accumulated  under 
the  unselfish  management  of  the  missionaries  ;  yet 
the  servant  of  God  looked  upon  himself  as  the 
mere  steward  of  the  Indians.  As  they  were  in- 
capable of  maintaining  or  disposing  of  the  prop- 
erty in  a  manner  beneficial  to  themselves,  the 
missionary  acted  as  father  and  guardian  in  their 
name  without  temporal  benefit  to  himself.  In 
this  capacity  Fr.  Magin  cared  for  all,  and  as- 
sisted the  needy  and  unfortunate  wherever  pos- 
sible. He  would  dismiss  no  one  without  bestow- 
ing something,  no  matter  whence  the  applicant 
came.  He  would  distribute  whatever  the  store- 
rooms contained,  grain,  beans,  peas,  lentils, 


98 


seeds,  meat,  clothing,  and  medicine.  If  white 
people  applied,  they  were  expected  to  pay  for 
what  they  wanted,  since  the  property  belonged 
to  the  neophytes ;  but  if  the  person  was  poor 
and  needy,  Fr.  Magin  regarded  the  applicant  as 
one  privileged  of  the  Lord,  and  then  gave  what- 
ever was  needed.  In  times  of  scarcity  he  saw  to 
it  that  the  produce  was  divided  according  to 
actual  need.  Once  a  thrifty  Spaniard  came  to 
purchase  a  quantity  of  provisions.  He  desired 
to  procure  a  good  supply  and  had  the  money 
ready  to  pay  for  it;  but  as  the  harvest  had  not 
been  abundant,  the  servant  of  God  said  to  his 
customer,  "Do  not  buy  too  much  at  once ;  there 
are  many  others  who  are  in  need;  for  the  pres- 
ent this  is  sufficient  for  your  family." 

A  neat  little  story  was  told  by  Aventino  Guz- 
man, who  claimed  to  have  heard  it  from  his 
father  as  a  notorious  fact.  One  other  witness 
corroborated  the  statement.  Just  as  Fr.  Magin 
was  about  to  celebrate  holy  Mass  and  stood  at 
the  altar,  he  suddenly  called  an  attendant  and 
directed  him  to  tell  the  two  men  who  were  steal- 
ing flour  from  the  store-room  to  come  to  holy 
Mass,  lest  they  committed  two  sins  at  one  and 
the  same  time.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  Sunday. 
The  two  culprits,  all  besprinkled  with  flour,  really 
appeared  in  the  church.  The  stifled  amusement 
of  the  worshipers  may  be  imagined.  After  the 
holy  Sacrifice  the  holy  man  mildly  reproved  the 


99 


guilty  pair  by  saying  in  his  soft,  gentle  tone, 
which  showed  that  he  felt  hurt,  "Why  did  you 
want  to  steal,  when  you  know  that  nothing  that 
you  need  will  be  denied  to  you?"  When  Aven- 
tino  was  asked  by  the  Promoter  how  Fr.  Magin 
could  have  known  about  the  stealing,  he  replied 
in  amazement,  "How  he  knew?  He  was  a  holy 
man!  He  had  the  spirit  of  prophecy!" 

On  another  occasion  a  Spanish  woman  came 
to  purchase  some  goods.  She  had  two  or  three 
dollars.  When  upon  inquiry  the  Father  learned 
that  she  was  the  mother  of  a  number  of  chil- 
dren, he  gave  her  double  the  amount  she  wanted 
at  half  the  usual  price.  Instances  of  this  kind, 
coupled  with  his  uniform  mildness,  made  the 
poor  look  with  unbounded  confidence  to  the  man 
of  God.  Besides  assisting  them,  he  always  dis- 
missed the  needy  with  some  words  of  consola- 
tion and  advice. 

Another  incident  of  Fr.  Magin's  thoughtful 
charity  regards  the  people  of  the  Pueblo  of  San 
Jose.  Before  they  had  a  chapel  of  their  own, 
which  was  not  begun  until  1803,  the  inhabitants 
had  to  attend  holy  Mass  at  Santa  Clara.  The 
distance  was  a  league.  In  summer  time  the  heat 
was  intense,  and  the  dust  most  disagreeable. 
The  women  and  children  suffered  not  a  little  in 
their  endeavor  to  comply  with  their  religious 
duties.  The  servant  of  God  noticed  the  hard- 
ship. In  order  to  make  it  less  difficult  to  reach 


100 


the  mission  on  Sundays  and  holydays,  he  had 
the  Indians  turn  out  and  plant  poplar  trees  on 
both  sides  of  the  road.  As  these  trees  grew  up 
their  branches  covered  the  roadway,  and  thus 
furnished  shade  to  the  people  going  and  coming. 
For  many  years  the  roadway  was  famed  far  and 
wide  as  the  Alameda  of  Santa  Clara.  Soon 
after  Fr.  Magin's  death  less  devout  settlers  be- 
gan to  cut  down  the  trees  for  firewood. 

The  sick  and  dying  received  the  most  devoted 
attention  from  the  holy  man.  Nor  did  it  make 
any  difference  whether  the  sufferer  was  a  Chris- 
tian or  pagan.  He  would  endeavor  to  win  the 
latter  by  means  of  presents  in  the  form  of  cloth, 
provisions,  or  trinkets,  but  most  of  all  by  his 
gentleness.  The  killing  of  infants  was  not  un- 
common among  the  savages.  The  mothers  did 
not  want  to  be  burdened  with  the  little  ones,  lest 
they  prevent  the  parents  from  indulging  them- 
selves as  was  their  wont.  Fr.  Magin  strove  to 
impress  upon  the  women  that  such  conduct  to- 
wards their  offspring  was  most  wicked  and  most 
detrimental  to  their  race.  To  remove  any  ex- 
cuse, he  would  see  that  nothing  was  lacking  in 
the  way  of  food,  clothing,  or  alleviation.  For 
that  purpose  he  would  visit  such  people  as  often 
as  he  deemed  it  conducive  to  their  spiritual  or 
temporal  welfare.  When  he  had  discovered  that 
want  existed,  he  would  often  send  provisions 
secretly. 


101 


The  solicitous  pastor  would  above  all  see  that 
the  sick  received  the  consolations  of  their  re- 
ligion. Nor  could  ill-health  prevent  him  from 
attending  to  this  duty.  Though  he  would  insist 
that  he  be  notified  of  any  case  of  serious  sick- 
ness, it  was  the  general  belief  that  he  was  super- 
naturally  advised  of  the  spiritual  necessity  of  any 
in  his  flock,  and  then  he  would  go  even  though 
he  was  unable  to  walk  alone.  Sometimes  he 
would  suddenly  call  an  Indian,  direct  him  to  fill 
a  sack  with  food,  and  to  leave  it  at  a  certain 
house.  Then  he  would  call  Juan  Crisostomo, 
inform  him  that  some  one  was  sick,  and  ask  him 
to  fetch  the  holy  oils,  ritual,  surplice,  and  stole. 
Placing  one  hand  on  Crisostomo,  he  would 
slowly  and  with  much  pain  limp  along,  until  he 
had  reached  the  sick-bed.  No  matter  what  the 
distance  was,  he  never  used  a  conveyance,  but 
always  went  afoot.  At  such  times,  Crisostomo 
related,  frequent  stops  had  to  be  made,  and  Fr. 
Magin  would  beg  his  faithful  friend  to  join  him 
in  praying  for  sufficient  strength,  though  with- 
out complaining  about  the  hardship. 

At  Santa  Clara,  as  in  all  the  California  mis- 
sions, the  girls  from  about  the  age  of  eleven  or 
twelve,  and  the  single  women  without  a  home, 
lived  apart  from  the  Indian  village  in  a  house 
erected  for  them.  The  Franciscan  Fathers  had 
introduced  this  arrangement  immediately  on 
founding  their  missions,  as  it  was  necessary  to 


102 


preserve  the  young  women  from  insult  and  se- 
duction. The  girls  remained  at  this  home  until 
they  married,  when  with  their  husbands  they 
would  form  part  of  the  Indian  village  commu- 
nity. An  aged  and  trusted  Indian  official  gen- 
erally took  care  that  they  were  not  molested 
from  without.  Within,  the  wife  of  the  corporal 
of  the  guard  or  some  trusted  Indian  woman  re- 
mained with  the  girls  during  the  night ;  for  they 
were  not  permitted  to  pass  the  night  outside 
their  quarters.  In  the  daytime  they  were  at 
liberty,  when  not  occupied,  to  visit  their  parents 
in  the  adjoining  village.  The  inmates  lived 
pretty  much  after  the  same  manner  that  is  ob- 
served in  our  asylums  or  academies.  They 
passed  the  time  in  taking  part  in  the  instructions, 
in  learning  housekeeping,  spinning,  weaving, 
and  other  domestic  work  suitable  to  their  sex,  so 
as  to  fit  them  for  the  married  state  to  which  all 
Indian  girls  aspired  most  fervently.  Scarcely 
any  of  them  desired  to  remain  single.  As  to  the 
holy  state  of  virginity,  Indian  females  of  those 
times  had  no  conception  of  its  beauty  or  lofti- 
ness. Hence  the  system  established  by  the  mis- 
sionaries, owing  to  the  carnal  nature  of  the 
natives,  and  the  brutishness  of  white  adven- 
turers, was  so  necessary  that  a  defense,  despite 
the  attacks  leveled  against  it  at  the  period  of 
mission  confiscation  and  destruction,  is  quite 
superfluous.  The  inmates  were  doubtless  the 


103 


most  happy,  as  they  were  the  most  innocent  part 
of  the  mission  population.  The  missionary  had 
to  provide  for  this  portion  of  his  large  family, 
just  as  he  was  required  to  do  for  the  village 
people.  Fr.  Magin,  leaving  the  temporal  affairs 
to  Fr.  Jose  Viader,  devoted  himself  to  the  spir- 
itual well-being  and  general  deportment  of  these 
girls.  Many  of  the  women  who  lived  as  faith- 
ful wives  long  after  the  death  of  the  servant  of 
God,  and  who  distinguished  themselves  for  their 
piety  and  good  sense,  would  with  pride  relate 
that  they  had  been  members  of  the  "monjerio" 
or  nunnery,  as  the  people  were  accustomed  to 
designate  the  home  of  the  girls.  The  girls  were 
called  "monjas,"  nuns,  though  of  course  they 
were  not  nuns,  and  did  not  even  dress  alike. 
From  this  it  is  clear  that  Fr.  Magin's  charity 
had  abundant  opportunity  of  asserting  itself, 
and,  as  the  narrative  shows,  the  holy  man  exer- 
cised this  virtue  in  an  heroic  degree. 

The  very  brutes  and  insects  experienced  the 
thoughtful  kindness  of  the  holy  man.  Follow- 
ing the  example  of  the  Seraphic  Father  St.  Fran- 
cis, Fr.  Magin  insisted  that  even  irrational  crea- 
tures should  be  treated  with  consideration.  One 
instance  may  suffice.  While  conversing  with  a 
person  one  day  an  ugly  insect  appeared  on  the 
knee  of  the  servant  of  God.  The  gentleman 
hastily  attempted  to  brush  it  away,  but  the  good 
rather  said,  "Let  it  alone ;  God  made  it." 


THE  CARDINAL  VIRTUES. 

"Temperance,  and  prudence,  and  justice,  and 
fortitude,  which  are  such  things  as  men  have 
notJung  more  profitable  in  life." 

(Wisdom  viii,  7.) 

Next  to  the  three  theological  virtues  the  four 
cardinal  virtues  are  most  necessary  for  the 
spiritual  progress  of  man,  and  particularly  in- 
dispensable for  every  one  that  aspires  to  a  high 
degree  of  perfection. 

1.     PRUDENCE. 

The  foremost  of  the  cardinal  virtues  is  pru- 
dence, which  moderates  the  others,  and  without 
which  nothing  can  be  properly  and  judiciously 
done  that  would  seem  to  deserve  praise  or  re- 
ward. Prudence  according  to  the  Angelic  Doc- 
tor *  is  an  infused  virtue  by  the  aid  of  which 
man  disposes  and  regulates  means  and  actions 
so  as  to  attain  his  last  destiny,  that  is  to  say, 
everlasting  happiness  for  the  honor  and  glory  of 
God.  St.  Anthony,  the  Father  of  the  monks  in 
the  desert,  in  conference  with  his  brethren,  after 
hearing  their  opinion  as  to  which  virtue  was  the 
most  necessary,  declared  that  prudence  was  the 
most  needful,  because  it  teaches  how  to  choose 
the  means  between  the  extremes,  which  latter 


1  Prima  Secundae,  quaest.  65,  art.  2. 


105 


are  nearly  always  faulty.  Prudence  may  also  be 
likened  to  salt  which  seasons  the  food  and  makes 
it  palatable. 

In  how  far  the  holy  missionary  of  Santa  Clara 
excelled  in  the  practise  of  this  virtue  must  be 
inferred  from  his  words  and  deeds.  He  certainly 
evinced  marked  prudence,  having  in  mind  man's 
last  destiny,  when  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen 
years  he  despised  the  vanities  of  the  world  to 
embrace  the  evangelical  counsels  in  a  religious 
Order  for  the  purpose  of  securing  eternal  hap- 
piness. He  furthermore  acted  wisely  when  he 
determined  to  follow  his  Divine  Master's  ex- 
ample by  devoting  himself  to  the  work  of  saving 
immortal  souls  in  regions  where  there  was 
dearth  of  apostolic  men,  and  when  he  volun- 
teered for  the  missions  among  the  savages  of 
America,  where  he  labored  zealously  until  Al- 
mighty God  called  him  to  his  reward. 

The  assiduous  exercise  of  prayer,  the  con- 
stant contemplation  of  heavenly  truths,  despite 
the  manifold  distracting  occupations  of  an  In- 
dian missionary,  which  as  it  appears  never  di- 
verted Fr.  Magin's  mind  from  the  grand  fact 
that  God  is  ever  present,  is  another  convincing 
sign  of  a  most  prudent  soul ;  for  prayer  is  the 
best  means  to  obtain  life  everlasting. 

All  the  acts  and  words  of  Fr.  Magin,  as  far 
as  could  be  ascertained,  bespeak  the  man  using 
the  right  means  to  avoid  jeopardizing  his  eter- 


106 


nal  destiny  or  the  everlasting  welfare  of  those 
entrusted  to  him.  He  exercised  such  care  and 
paternal  solicitude  in  counseling,  exhorting, 
warning,  and  teaching  his  flock  that  all  im- 
plicitly put  their  trust  in  his  guidance.  He  was 
a  most  prudent  and  kindly  moderator  of  peni- 
tents. He  would  listen  with  patience  and  dis- 
miss them  fortified  by  his  wise  counsel.  All 
witnesses  affirm  that  the  holy  man  received  every 
one  affectionately,  sympathized  with  the  af- 
flicted, and  gave  them  the  salutary  advice  that 
helped  them  to  continue  true  to  their  God  despite 
adversities  or  allurements.  Fr.  Magin  was  very 
particular  to  admonish  the  heads  of  families  to 
warn  their  children  and  to  set  them  a  good  ex- 
ample. The  result  of  his  wise  supervision  was 
that  his  penitents  were  said  to  have  been  dis- 
tinguished for  their  fervor,  piety,  and  love  for 
Jesus  Christ  Crucified. 

As  a  lover  of  peace,  the  servant  of  God  did 
everything  to  preserve  harmony  among  his 
people  and  with  the  government  officials ;  but 
this  does  not  mean  that  he  permitted  injustice 
against  the  rights  of  his  wards  for  the  sake  of 
peace.  When  the  colonists  of  San  Jose  en- 
croached upon  the  property  of  the  mission,  which 
belonged  to  the  Indians,  Fr.  Magin  firmly  op- 
posed the  assumption  of  the  white  settlers.  On 
the  other  hand,  he  would  waive  his  own  personal 
rights,  and  accept  insults  from  government  offi- 


107 


cers,  immoral  white  men  or  obstreperous  natives, 
for  the  sake  of  peace.  When  discord  arose  be- 
tween husbands  and  wives,  he  exhorted  them  to 
come  to  terms,  remembering  that  their  duties  to- 
wards each  other  lasted  while  they  lived,  and 
that  they  should  bear  the  cross  which  Almighty 
God  had  laid  upon  their  shoulders,  inasmuch  as 
they  could  not  escape  it  by  throwing  it  down ; 
that  God,  who  wanted  all  to  bear  up  under  some 
kind  of  affliction  for  their  own  benefit,  knew  just 
which  kind  of  cross  fitted  each  one  best. 

It  is  an  historical  fact,  and  the  witnesses  at 
the  canonical  examination  under  oath  so  stated, 
that  there  never  was  any  friction  between  Fr. 
Magin  and  his  companion,  Fr.  Jose  Viader, 
during  the  whole  thirty-four  years  that  they  lived 
together.  There  are  a  great  many  letters  extant 
which  were  written  by  Fr.  Viader.  He  always 
speaks  with  respect  of  his  senior  companion. 
In  one  communication  to  the  governor  Fr.  Via- 
der expressly  declares  that  he  did  nothing  which 
did  not  have  the  approval  of  the  infirm  Fr.  Ma- 
gin.  This  was  saying  a  great  deal,  because  the 
whole  temporal  management  of  the  populous 
mission  rested  upon  the  shoulders  of  Fr.  Via- 
der. It  was  he  that  drew  up  the  official  reports 
and  attended  to  all  correspondence.  The  former 
were  merely  countersigned  by  Fr.  Magin,  but 
otherwise  the  servant  of  God  wrote  neither  let- 
ters nor  anything  else.  This  is  the  reason  why 


we  are  compelled  to  rely  for  judgment  of  the 
holy  man's  inner  life  upon  his  words  and  deeds 
as  far  as  they  came  under  the  notice  of  the 
people.  The  two  missionaries  of  Santa  Clara, 
as  one  witness  expressed  it  before  the  Ecclesias- 
tical Court,  appeared  to  be  like  two  persons  in 
one.  So  well  did  they  agree.  This  shows  that 
Fr.  Jose  Viader  himself  must  have  been  a  faith- 
ful religious  and  conscientious  missionary. 

Though  from  predilection  less  occupied  with 
temporal  things  than  his  fellow  missionary,  Fr. 
Magin  was  never  idle.  The  spiritual  affairs  of 
the  mission  claimed  much  time,  and  the  rest 
he  passed  in  prayer  and  contemplation.  He 
took  care  that  every  one  was  employed,  and 
he  watched  that  no  disorders  occurred.  Of 
course,  there  had  to  be  diversions  for  the  In- 
dians. They  constituted  a  part  of  the  attractions 
for  the  natives,  who  were  childishly  fond  of 
every  kind  of  amusement.  Substitutes  had  to  be 
provided  for  the  unseemly  diversions  in  vogue 
among  the  savages,  or  the  neophytes  would  run 
away.  The  arrangement  and  supervision  of  this 
phase  of  the  mission  system,  the  servant  of  God 
left  to  the  judgment  of  Fr.  Viader.  His  own 
contemplative  spirit  could  scarcely  wrest  itself 
from  the  lofty  subjects  which  fascinated  his  soul. 
It  was  well,  therefore,  that  his  energetic  com- 
panion took  charge  in  so  far  as  was  necessary  to 
prevent  dangerous  or  improper  amusements. 


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109 


Fr.  Magin  showed  his  prudence  in  many  other 
ways,  but  especially  with  regard  to  females. 
With  Job  he  could  truly  say,  "I  made  a  cov- 
enant with  my  eyes,  that  I  would  not  so  much 
as  think  upon  a  virgin."  2  The  holy  man's  cus- 
tom was  not  to  gaze  at  the  face  of  any  one.  As 
to  women  it  was  his  inflexible  rule.  Nor  would 
he  permit  women  to  see  his  own  countenance 
when  they  approached  him  on  some  business  or 
the  other.  He  would  draw  the  hood  far  over 
his  brow  so  that  his  face  could  not  be  seen.  In- 
stead of  feeling  offended  on  that  account,  this 
habit  of  Fr.  Magin  seemed  to  have  removed 
some  of  the  timidity  of  the  women ;  for,  as  one 
naively  expressed  herself,  neither  could  he  recog- 
nize them  !  At  any  rate,  all  approached  him  with 
confidence  when  there  was  serious  business  to 
be  transacted,  and  departed  with  more  courage 
because  of  the  sound  advice  which  he  had  given. 
One  woman  testified  that  though  she  had  known 
the  servant  of  God  many  years,  she  never  had 
the  opportunity  of  seeing  his  face  during  ordi- 
nary conversation. 

2.     JUSTICE. 

Of  the  second  cardinal  virtue,  justice,  St.  An- 
selm 1  says,  "Justice  is  the  liberty  of  the  soul 
which  accords  to  each  one  his  proper  dignity, 


2  Job  xxxi,  1. 

1  Lib.  Cur  Deus  Homo. 


110 


reverence  to  the  superior,  harmony  towards 
equals,  instruction  to  the  inferior,  obedience  to 
God,  sanctification  to  one's  self,  and  unstinted 
liberality  to  the  needy." 

As  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  Fr.  Magin 
showed  due  respect  even  to  the  haughty  govern- 
ment officials.  There  is  not  the  least  complaint 
to  the  contrary  on  record.  His  own  superiors 
entertained  a  high  opinion  of  him,  and  barring 
his  corporal  infirmities,  judged  him  worthy  of 
any  position  in  the  Order. 

We  have  already  adverted  to  the  fraternal  re- 
gard with  which  Fr.  Viader  and  Fr.  Magin 
treated  each  other;  further  remarks  on  the  sub- 
ject may  therefore  be  omitted. 

Although  a  man  of  few  words,  Fr.  Magin 
was  affable  and  treated  every  one  with  paternal 
solicitude.  As  we  have  already  seen,  he  in- 
structed his  neophytes  and  the  colonists  well  ; 
warned  them  against  the  snares  of  the  evil  spirit, 
against  dangers  to  their  faith  from  heretics  and 
unbelievers  in  the  future,  and  by  word  and  ex- 
ample directed  them  on  the  road  to  heaven.  If 
any  of  them  missed  his  eternal  destiny,  surely  it 
could  not  be  attributed  to  the  zealous  pastor. 
His  sense  of  what  is  just  would  not  permit  him 
to  let  any  one  remain  in  ignorance  of  his  religious 
duties ;  nor  would  he  allow  any  one  to  despise 
the  Law  of  God  or  the  Church.  Lest  some  one 
find  an  excuse  in  the  conduct  of  the  pastor,  Fr. 


Ill 


Magin  took  the  lead  in  the  strict  observance  of 
everything  that  was  prescribed. 

Though  his  numerous  afflictions  and  his  po- 
sition as  Indian  missionary  might  have  dis- 
pensed him  from  many  minor  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  the  Order  or  College,  the  servant  of 
God  continued  to  observe  the  Franciscan  Rule 
in  the  strict  manner  customary  at  the  mission- 
ary College  of  San  Fernando.  No  wonder  the 
blessing  of  St.  Francis  attended  his  zealous 
efforts,  and  the  superiors  thought  of  elevating 
him  to  higher  offices.  Only  his  infirmities, 
which  precluded  traveling  from  one  mission  to 
another  every  year  for  the  canonical  visitations, 
prevented  the  execution  of  the  plan. 

Lastly,  it  is  characteristic  of  Christian  justice 
to  be  generous  and  compassionate  towards  the 
poor  and  afflicted.  There  is  no  question  that  Fr. 
Magin  was  loved  and  revered  by  Indians  and 
colonists  for  this  very  generosity  towards  those 
in  distress.  The  whole  mission  might  have  been 
called  a  great  charitable  institution  of  which  the 
holy  man  was  the  dispenser  or  almoner.  As  we 
have  already  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  his 
charity,  we  shall  pass  on  to  the  next  virtue. 

3.     FORTITUDE. 

While  speaking  of  the  virtue  of  fortitude  St. 
Ambrose,  quoted  by  St.  Bonaventure,  l  says  that 


iSee  Palou,  "Vida,"  pp.  304-307. 


112 


"he  is  strong  who  consoles  himself  when  he  is 
suffering  any  pain."  Great  and  almost  contin- 
uous were  the  sufferings  which  Fr.  Magin  had 
to  bear  on  account  of  the  malignant  and  chronic 
rheumatism  which  began  to  attack  him  almost 
as  soon  as  he  took  charge  of  Mission  Santa 
Clara.  His  last  three  years  may  indeed  be  called 
a  slow  martyrdom.  He  never  complained.  In 
1799  and  again  in  1804  the  sufferer  explained 
his  condition  to  the  Fr.  Presidente,  and  asked 
for  permission  to  retire  to  his  monastery  in 
Mexico,  seeing  that  his  illness  seemed  to  render 
him  useless  for  mission  work.  He  received  the 
required  permit,  but  finally  decided  to  stay  at  his 
post  until  Almighty  God  should  manifest  His 
will  by  removing  him  through  death  or  other- 
wise, content  to  suffer  for  his  Indians  in  case  he 
could  not  be  active  in  their  behalf.  The  holy 
man,  however,  was  exceedingly  active  in  spite 
of  his  physical  disabilities,  and  that  makes  his 
fortitude  appear  the  more  heroic. 

In  the  second  place,  St.  Ambrose  teaches  that 
"that  virtue  is  indeed  justly  called  fortitude  by 
means  of  which  one  overcomes  himself  and 
checks  his  angry  passions."  Fr.  Magin  was  so 
absolutely  master  of  himself  that  nothing  seemed 
to  ruffle  him,  save  when  God  was  insulted  and 
His  Commandments  or  the  Precepts  of  God's 
Church  despised.  Accustomed  to  recognize  the 
will  of  God  in  every  occurrence,  the  holy  man 


113 


found  it  quite  in  keeping  with  his  condition  of 
creature  and  child  of  God  to  make  the  acts  of 
resignation  so  indicative  of  conformity  with  the 
Divine  Will  which  should  be  the  characteristic  of 
every  Christian.  It  may  be  truthfully  said  that 
Fr.  Magin's  life  was  one  long,  beautiful  act  of 
resignation  to  the  sweet  Divine  Will  whose  very 
chastisements  are  evidences  of  love. 

Though  the  servant  of  God  was  never  known 
to  have  manifested  any  sign  of  anger  in  matters 
that  affected  his  own  person,  he  could  express 
himself  quite  forcibly  and  fearlessly  when  the 
occasion  called  for  plain  language.  Thus  when 
in  1826  Governor  Echeandia,  the  first  Mexican 
ruler  of  California,  demanded  that  the  mission- 
aries should  swear  allegiance  to  the  government 
of  Mexico  and  the  Mexican  Constitution  as 
framed  by  the  politicians  who  then  controlled 
that  country,  Fr.  Magin  with  most  of  the 
Fathers  refused  until  the  King  of  Spain  should 
recognize  the  independence  of  Mexico.  They 
claimed  prior  allegiance  to  the  mother  country, 
and  therefore  thought  that  the  new  oath  was 
incompatible  with  their  sense  of  loyalty  to  the 
king.  Though  none  of  them  took  much  interest 
in  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  republic,  rather 
ignored  them  in  order  to  advance  the  spiritual 
and  temporal  welfare  of  their  Indians,  all  the 
missionaries  offered  to  swear  to  obey  the  author- 
ities that  existed.  This  was  in  compliance  with 


114 


the  teaching  of  St.  Paul,  who  would  have  all 
Christians  render  obedience  even  to  wicked 
rulers,  inasmuch  as  "there  is  no  power  except 
from  God." 2  Fr.  Magin's  reply  was  to  the 
point  as  follows :  "I  cannot  and  consequently 
will  not  take  said  oath.  During  the  thirty-three 
years  since  I  have  been  in  this  mission  I  have 
never  meddled  with  political  matters ;  and  if  now 
they  want  to  distrust  me,  who  at  the  age  of 
sixty-six  years  and  burdened  with  infirmities 
hopes  and  believes  to  be  near  the  end,  I  swear 
to  observe  fidelity  and  obedience  to  the  govern- 
ment and  the  constituted  authorities."  Though 
expulsion  was  threatened,  he  would  not  be 
moved,  and  was  then  allowed  to  die  in  peace  at 
the  mission.  This  occurred,  happily,  before  the 
holy  man  could  witness  the  ruin  brought  upon 
all  the  missions  through  the  machinations  of 
unscrupulous,  anti-Christian  politicians  in  both 
Mexico  and  California. 

One  should  think  that  a  man  so  considerate 
and  inoffensive  as  Fr.  Magin  could  have  no  ene- 
mies except  the  devil ;  yet  he,  too,  had  to  ex- 
perience what  it  is  to  be  vexed  and  persecuted 
by  bad  Christians  whose  vices  he  had  to  re- 
prove, or  to  encounter  the  contemptible  conduct 
of  haughty  military  officers.  Thus  on  January 
7th,  1797,  Governor  Borica  found  it  necessary  to 

2  Rom.  xiii,  1. 


115 


teach  two  young  military  officers  a  lesson,  when 
he  ordered  Ignacio  Vallejo  and  Gabriel  Moraga 
to  give  satisfaction  to  Fr.  Catala  for  their  rude- 
ness. At  the  same  time  he  asked  the  Father  to 
bear  a  little  with  the  manners  of  men  who  were 
not  educated  "in  a  college  of  nobles,  nor  in  a 
Roman  school."  3  What  the  trouble  really  was, 
it  is  impossible  to  state.  It  is  certain  that  the 
servant  of  God  wrote  not  a  line,  nor  did  he  draw 
the  attention  of  the  governor  to  the  matter 
through  others.  Borica  must  have  been  made 
acquainted  with  the  offense  of  the  two  men  by 
some  one  else.  As  early  as  the  year  before,  Sep- 
tember 3,  1796,  Governor  Borica  wrote  that  it 
was  reported  to  him  that  Fr.  Catala  had  threat- 
ened the  official  in  charge  at  San  Jose,  apparently 
Vallejo,  to  destroy  the  house  if  he  admitted 
Christian  natives  to  the  town.  The  governor  re- 
garded the  charge  as  so  absurd  that  he  would 
not  believe  it,  and  moreover  remarked  that  Fr. 
Magin  was  a  friar,  not  a  Robespierre. 

These  incidents  go  to  show  with  what  kind  of 
people  the  missionaries  had  to  deal  in  the  per- 
sons of  some  colonists  and  soldiers,  and  they  also 
prove  in  what  esteem  the  servant  of  God  was 
held  from  the  very  first  years  of  his  ministry  at 
Mission  Santa  Clara.  It  may  be  said,  however, 
that  as  a  rule  Fr.  Magin  had  no  enemies  save 


3  "En  colegio  de  nobles  ni  en  el  romano." 


116 


those  that  were  already  the  enemies  of  God.  He, 
therefore,  had  few  opportunities  to  display  his 
spirit  of  forgiveness. 

"The  soul  is  not  weakened  or  overcome  by 
temptations,"  St.  Ambrose  mentions  as  the  third 
mark  of  Christian  fortitude.  Fr.  Magin  doubt- 
less encountered  the  temptation  to  cling  to 
parents,  home,  country,  comforts,  and  worldly 
prospects ;  but  these  considerations  could  not 
withdraw  him  from  the  one  object  which  he  had 
learned  to  prize  as  alone  worth  acquiring — his 
dear  Christ  Crucified.  Doubtless,  too,  his  phy- 
sical disabilities  afforded  the  evil  spirits  abun- 
dant opportunities  for  tormenting  the  holy  man 
dreadfully.  If  St.  Paul  was  not  spared  these 
difficulties,  a  poor  missionary  aspiring  to  be  with 
Christ  must  have  been  subjected  to  similar  vexa- 
tions from  the  powers  of  darkness.  The  life  of 
a  missionary  among  pagans,  or  in  the  midst  of 
those  that  have  scarcely  renounced  all  pagan 
habits,  at  best  is  a  life  of  wearisome  toil  and 
disappointment.  If  at  the  same  time  health  and 
every  convenience  be  wanting,  only  Christian 
fortitude  in  an  heroic  degree  will  enable  the  over- 
burdened laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  to 
persevere.  Fr.  Magin  possessed  this  virtue,  and 
therefore  a  faithful  attendant  could  truthfully 
affirm,  "I  have  never  seen  him  discouraged." 
When  his  swollen  and  sore  feet  made  it  impos- 
sible for  the  sufferer  to  walk  alone  to  the 


117 


wretched  rancherias  of  the  pagans  or  outlying 
Christian  Indians,  as  there  was  no  other  con- 
veyance than  the  huge  carts  drawn  by  slow 
oxen,  and  as  Fr.  Magin  could  not  ride  on  horse- 
back on  account  of  his  rheumatism,  he  would 
lean  on  Juan  Crisostomo  or  some  other  guide  and 
limp  along  as  well  as  he  could.  He  remained 
cheerful  withal,  so  that  no  one  could  tell  whether 
or  not  the  holy  man  suffered  any  pain. 

Nor  would  he  depart  from  his  penitential  man- 
ner of  life  because  of  his  ailments.  He  practised 
all  the  austerities  prescribed  by  the  Franciscan 
Rule  or  the  Constitutions  of  his  missionary  col- 
lege, and  added  many  more  as  hunger  and  thirst 
for  righteousness  suggested.  Hence  it  was 
that  he  could  with  effect  exhort  his  people  to 
practise  patience  and  to  do  penance,  inasmuch 
as  they  had  in  him  a  shining  example  of  the 
spirit  of  penance  and  Christian  resignation  which 
must  have  shamed  into  silence  those  that  neg- 
lected serious  duties  because  of  slight  incon- 
veniences. 

Fr.  Magin's  fortitude  appears  most  brightly  in 
his  last  illness,  which  lasted  nearly  a  year;  for 
as  early  as  February  9th,  1830,  Fr.  Vincente  de 
Sarria,  the  commissary,  reported  to  the  governor 
that  the  servant  of  God  had  received  Extreme 
Unction.  He  did  not  die  until  nine  months  later, 
however.  It  is  sickness  that  lays  bare  the  char- 
acter of  man.  Fr.  Magin's  infirmities  had  been 


118 


increasing  for  years.  For  nearly  four  years  he 
could  not  officiate  at  baptisms;  but  as  we  have 
seen,  he  never  neglected  to  preach.  Besides  suf- 
fering from  his  feet,  a  witness  testified  that  after 
his  death  it  was  found  that  one  arm  was  badly 
sore,  it  was  thought  from  the  wearing  of  some 
instrument  of  penance.  Though  from  the  force 
of  circumstances,  but  especially  from  choice,  the 
good  Father  was  deprived  of  every  convenience 
that  to  us  appears  imperatively  necessary,  he 
manifested  no  discontent,  for  it  was  suffering 
that  he  desired  in  order  to  be  as  much  like  his 
Crucified  Love  as  possible. 

4.    TEMPERANCE. 

Temperance,  the  last  of  the  four  cardinal  vir- 
tues, according  to  St.  Thomas  of  Aquino  con- 
sists in  moderating  our  passions,  actions,  and 
inclinations,  in  harmony  with  reason.  Accord- 
ing to  the  same  authority,  it  is  the  last  and  least 
of  the  four  virtues,  for  the  other  three  tend  to 
a  higher  degree  of  moral  perfection.1  St.  Pros- 
per 2  when  treating  of  this  virtue  enumerates 
some  of  its  qualities  and  effects.  In  the  first 
place,  he  says,  that  "temperance  renders  tem- 
perate and  tempers  the  affections."  All  the  de- 


1  Secund?.  Secundae,  quaest.  141,  art.  1,  et  8. 

2  Lib.  iii,  de  Vit.  Cont.,  cap.  19,  p.  92,  quoted  by 
I'alou. 


119 


sires  of  Fr.  Magin  aimed  at  possessing  God ; 
beyond  that  he  wished  for  nothing  more  than 
that  all  mankind  should  know  and  serve  the 
Creator  so  that  all  might  enjoy  Him.  This  re- 
sult he  endeavored  to  bring  about  by  means  of 
preaching,  teaching,  exhorting,  and  by  his  own 
example ;  but  he  was  not  intemperate  in  his  deal- 
ings with  those  placed  in  his  care.  He  pre- 
served dignity,  equanimity,  and  considerateness, 
always  bearing  in  mind  the  circumstances  of 
persons,  places,  things,  and  surroundings. 

St.  Prosper  furthermore  declares  that  tem- 
perance makes  abstemious,  economical,  sober, 
and  moderate.  All  these  adjectives  may  truth- 
fully be  applied  to  the  servant  of  God.  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  was  a  total  abstainer.  One  of  those  that 
knew  his  habits  well  stated  that  Fr.  Magin  was 
never  known  to  drink  wine.  This  is  the  more 
remarkable  in  that  the  good  Father  came  from 
Spain  where  wine  is  the  common  beverage.  His 
meals,  which  he  took  twice  a  day  only,  were 
exceedingly  frugal.  They  consisted  of  corn 
gruel  prepared  with  milk  in  small  quantities. 
When  he  celebrated  holy  Mass  at  San  Jose,  he 
took  the  noonday  meal  at  the  house  of  Don  An- 
tonio Sunol.  He  would  not  join  the  family,  but 
had  his  milk  and  crumbs  of  tortillas  placed  on 
a  side  table.  Sometimes  he  would  add  a  few 
dried  fruits.  Instead  of  milk  he  would  on  Fri- 
days and  Ember  Days  drink  nothing  but  water 


120 


with  the  corncake.  Bread  was  not  baked  in 
those  days.  Tortillas  or  corncakes  supplied  the 
place  of  wheat  bread.  We  have  these  facts  from 
the  daughter-in-law  of  Don  Antonio  Sunol,  at 
whose  house  Fr.  Magin  would  accept  the  one 
refreshment  which  he  took  outside  the  mission. 
At  the  mission  he  also  invariably  fasted  till  noon, 
and  then  from  an  ordinary  earthen  plate  eat  the 
gruel  with  a  horn  spoon.  Meat,  eggs,  and 
fishes  never  formed  a  part  of  his  meals.  Juan 
Crisostomo  Galindo,  the  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Sunol,  fasted  similarly,  and  yet  reached  the  age 
of  one  hundred  and  one  years. 

Fr.  Magin  was  very  chary  with  his  words. 
People  knew  his  love  for  silence,  and  therefore 
his  visitors  were  few,  especially  females,  who 
rather  stood  in  awe  of  him. 

Temperance,  St.  Prosper  continues,  corrects 
and  chastises  what  is  faulty  or  vicious ;  in  other 
words,  it  teaches  mortification  and  self-denial. 
St.  Paul  thought  bodily  mortification  especially 
necessary.  "I  chastise  my  body,  and  bring  it  into 
subjection,  lest  perhaps  when  I  have  preached  to 
others  I  myself  should  become  reprobate." 3 
Christ,  our  Lord,  declares  self-denial  should  dis- 
tinguish His  disciples.  "If  any  man  will  follow 
Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross 

a  I  Cor.  ix,  27. 


121 


daily,  and  follow  Me."4  These  are  the  senti- 
ments of  all  the  saints  and  of  all  those  that  seri- 
ously aspire  to  a  place  in  heaven.  From  what 
has  already  been  said,  it  must  impress  every  one, 
as  it  impressed  all  that  came  into  contact  with 
him,  that  mortification  and  self-denial  in  an  he- 
roic degree  distinguished  the  holy  missionary  of 
Santa  Clara. 

According  to  the  Franciscan  Rule,  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  wore  sandals  instead  of  shoes,  but  he  would 
use  no  stockings  even  during  the  cold  and  wet 
seasons.  This  doubtless  had  much  to  do  with  his 
rheumatism  and  other  maladies,  as  there  was  no 
place  to  warm  or  dry  himself.  Even  if  there 
had  been  a  heating  apparatus  in  the  mission,  he 
would  probably  not  have  availed  himself  of  the 
comfort  which  it  afforded,  since  it  was  mortifica- 
tion not  comfort  which  he  sought.  During  the 
Lenten  season  the  holy  man  would  deny  his  poor 
feet  even  the  protection  of  sandals.  He  would 
then  in  the  mission  buildings  and  church  go  bare- 
footed. During  Holy  Week  he  would  also  go 
barefooted  outside  the  house,  notably  while  the 
devotion  of  the  Way  of  the  Cross  was  per- 
formed on  the  Alameda,  a  distance  of  about  half 
a  league. 

The  discipline  or  scourge  was  an  instrument 
of  penance  in  use  at  the  College  or  motherhouse. 

4  Luke  ix,  23. 


122 


In  the  missions,  there  being  enough  oppor- 
tunities for  mortification,  it  might  be  discarded. 
Fr.  Magin,  however,  would  apply  the  discipline 
to  himself  in  his  cell  or  where  he  could  be  un- 
observed whenever  he  deemed  it  conducive  to  his 
spiritual  welfare.  The  instrument  consisted  of 
a  number  of  leather  strips  twisted  into  knots  to 
which  at  intervals  nails  or  pieces  of  wire  were 
fastened. 

Moreover,  the  servant  of  God  wore  a  cilicium 
about  his  body  and,  according  to  some,  also 
about  one  arm.  This  instrument  of  mortifica- 
tion sometimes  consists  of  haircloth ;  sometimes 
it  is  a  girdle  of  wire  or  iron  about  two  inches 
wide.  It  is  formed  like  a  flat  chain,  but  with 
the  difference  that  the  points  of  the  wires,  where 
they  connect,  are  purposely  turned  all  to  the  side 
placed  next  to  the  body.  According  as  it  is 
laced  about  the  body,  loose  or  tight,  it  irritates 
or  torments  the  flesh.  It  seems  the  one  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  used  was  of  this  latter  make.  Such  instru- 
ments of  penance  might  inflict  serious  injury  to 
the  body  if  worn  a  great  length  of  time.  For 
this  reason  its  use  is  granted,  never  imposed,  for 
short  periods  only.  The  penitential  girdle,  like 
the  discipline,  was  a  very  common  means  of 
penance  among  the  saints  of  both  sexes.  Hence 
Fr.  Magin  was  practising  nothing  new. 

It  may  be  asked  why  this  torturing  of  one's 
body?  It  is  not  necessary  for  salvation.  That 


123 

depends.  It  is  not  easy  to  decide  what  a  saint 
or  a  soul  in  love  with  God,  or  one  charged  with 
the  salvation  of  others,  would  deem  necessary 
for  himself  in  order  to  secure  eternal  bliss  for 
himself  and  others.  St.  Paul  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  chastise,  that  is  to  say,  to  scourge  his 
body,  in  order  to  bring  it  into  subjection  to  the 
spirit  which  is  determined  to  retain  the  love  of 
God. 

People  tainted  with  worldliness  may  scoff  at 
the  foolishness  of  self-torture  on  the  part  of 
those  that  aspire  to  holiness  of  life.  What  then 
is  the  self-torture  of  the  devotees  of  fashion 
who  squeeze  their  feet  into  shoes  far  too  small 
for  comfort,  and  who  torment  their  bodies 
through  tight  lacing,  much  more  dangerous  to 
health  than  haircloth  or  the  girdle  of  the  peni- 
tent, for  no  other  purpose  than  to  be  numbered 
among  the  worshipers  of  fashion?  What  then 
is  the  practise  of  others  who  abstain  from  cer- 
tain foods,  and  who  deprive  themselves  of  neces- 
sary sleep,  for  worldly  gain  or  fame?  What  is 
the  difference  between  the  self-torture  of  the 
saint  and  that  of  the  worldling?  Surely,  the 
lofty  aim  of  the  former  and  the  base  motives  of 
the  latter  leave  no  doubt  which  of  the  two  is 
truly  wise  and  which  of  the  two  is  truly  foolish. 

True,  Fr.  Magin  led  an  innocent  life.  So  did 
St.  Paul  and  the  saints  who  are  known  for  their 
mortifications ;  but  penances  are  not  self-inflicted 


124 

for  personal  faults  only.  To  prevent  the  pas- 
sions from  governing  the  soul  and  leading  it  into 
sins,  is  quite  sufficient  reason  for  self-denial  and 
mortification.  Furthermore,  the  holy  missionary 
was  in  charge  of  souls.  Many  of  these  com- 
mitted sin,  even  grievous  sin.  As  their  spiritual 
father,  he,  like  Job,  thought  it  incumbent  upon 
himself  to  offer  the  sacrifice  of  his  austerities  and 
self-abnegation  for  his  spiritual  children,  inas- 
much as  they  were  unwilling  or  too  forgetful  to 
do  so  for  themselves,  in  order  to  turn  aside  the 
wrath  of  God  from  the  guilty  individuals  and 
from  the  whole  mission  family.  Saints  and  zeal- 
ous men  were  no  less  solicitous  for  the  eternal 
than  for  the  temporal  welfare  of  their  flock. 
There  we  must  look  for  the  secret  of  many  of 
their  frightful  penances.  Think  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier  scourging  himself  until  the  blood  flowed 
to  the  ground  for  the  sake  of  a  wretched  indi- 
vidual whose  conversion  he  desired.  Remem- 
ber St.  Paul  and  Moses  who  prayed  to  have  their 
names  stricken  from  the  book  of  life  rather  than 
that  their  people  should  be  destroyed.  If  they 
could  offer  their  life,  why  not  their  convenience, 
their  meals,  their  sleep,  etc.,  provided  the  sac- 
rifice would  bring  about  the  salvation  of  those 
they  loved  and  with  whose  guidance  they  were 
charged?  Hence  it  was  that  Fr.  Magin  would 
chastise  himself  unmercifully.  Through  Juan 
Crisostomo  and  others  we  know  that,  like  St. 


125 


Francis,  the  holy  missionary  of  Santa  Clara 
would  kneel  for  hours  before  his  Crucified  Lord 
weeping,  lamenting,  and  praying  for  the  sinners, 
especially  for  those  among  the  Indians  and  col- 
onists of  his  district.  This  resulted  in  a  coun- 
tenance which  appeared  habitually  sad,  though 
not  morose."  No  one  remembered  to  have  seen 
Fr.  Magin  laugh.  Indeed,  what  Almighty  God 
seems  to  have  shown  him  with  regard  to  the 
future  of  the  mission,  and  what  he  himself  knew 
of  the  moral  and  religious  state  of  many  of  his 
flock,  may  well  have  precluded  every  inclination 
to  gaiety. 

These  austerities,  however,  by  no  means  less- 
ened the  holy  man's  solicitude  and  activity  for 
the  neophytes  and  colonists.  They  on  the  con- 
trary added  fervor  to  his  energy.  Had  he  neg- 
lected his  duties  for  the  sake  of  performing  pen- 
ances to  which  he  was  not  bound,  he  would  have 
been  reprehensible.  As  it  was,  his  spirit  of  mor- 
tification rendered  him  the  more  zealous  both 
for  God  and  immortal  souls.  After  all,  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  was  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God  who  leads 
whithersoever  He  willeth.  Nor  did  all  the  fast- 
ing, vigils,  and  mortifications  shorten  his  life, 
for  he  reached  the  Scriptural  age  of  three  score 
and  ten.  Of  these  he  passed  only  the  first  six- 
teen years  in  the  world.  As  in  the  case  of  count- 
less great  and  good  men  and  women,  who  prac- 
tised self-denial,  the  life  of  the  servant  of  God 


126 


shows  that  fasting  and  abstinence  from  food,  and 
from  many  others  things  that  the  worldly- 
minded  fancy  to  be  necessary,  is  conducive  to 
longevity  rather  than  not. 


127 
THE  RELIGIOUS  VOWS. 

"The  vows  of  the  just  are  acceptable." 

(Prov.  xv,  8.) 

The  main  object  of  Religious  Orders  is  to 
lead  their  members  to  Christian  perfection  by 
the  fervent  observance  of  the  Evangelical  Coun- 
sels, besides  faithfully  keeping  the  Command- 
ments of  God  and  His  Church.  To  this  end  the 
Religious  bind  themselves  by  means  of  the  usual 
vows  of  obedience,  chastity,  and  poverty.  As  a 
Friar  Minor  Fr.  Magin  had  vowed  "to  observe 
the  holy  Gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by 
living  in  obedience,  without  property,  and  in 
chastity."1  It  is  required  of  the  candidate  for 
the  honors  of  the  altar  that  his  life  show  heroism 
in  keeping  these  vows  as  well  as  in  the  practise 
of  the  Christian  virtues  already  enumerated. 

1.     OBEDIENCE. 

"Obedience  is  better  than  sacrifices." 

(I  Kings,  xv,  22.) 

There  are  no  records  extant  concerning  Fr. 
Magin's  conduct  in  the  monasteries  of  either 
Spain  or  Mexico.  We  are,  therefore,  unable  to 
say  anything  regarding  his  early  life  in  religion. 
When,  however,  the  superiors  sent  the  servant 


1  Chapter  1,  Rule  of  St.  Francis. 


128 


of  God  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  they  informed  Fr. 
Lasuen,  the  presidente  of  the  missions,  that  the 
young  priest  was  a  good  and  peaceful  religious. 
They  would  not  have  made  this  remark,  had  he 
given  occasion  for  displeasure,  nor  would  they 
have  allowed  him  to  depart  for  California. 
Moreover,  two  of,  his  immediate  superiors  in 
succession,  Fr.  Vincente  de  Sarria  and  Fr.  Ma- 
riano Payeras,  later  recommended  Fr.  Magin 
for  higher  offices.  This  they  could  not  have 
done,  had  he  not  been  a  model  of  obedience  and 
exactitude  with  regard  to  the  Rules  of  the  Order 
and  of  his  Institute,  the  College  of  San  Fer- 
nando. 

Inasmuch  as  the  holy  man  himself  held  the 
office  of  local  superior  at  Santa  Clara,  he  had 
little  opportunity  to  manifest  submission  to  others 
besides  the  Fr.  Presidente.  As  we  have  seen, 
three  of  those  that  held  the  office  of  superior 
of  the  California  missions  frankly  expressed 
their  reverence  for  him.  The  fact  that  for  thirty- 
four  years  he  had  no  other  assistant  than  Fr. 
Jose  Viader,  who  was  himself  a  superior  char- 
acter, and  that  not  a  shadow  of  disharmony  ever 
came  between  the  two  friars,  shows  that  Fr. 
Magin  willingly  deferred  to  the  opinion  of  his 
hardly  less  conscientious  companion. 

That  the  holy  man  scrupulously  adhered  to  the 
Commandments  of  God,  the  Precepts  and  de- 
cisions of  the  Church,  and  to  the  Rules  of  his 


129 


Order,  and  that  he  insisted  that  every  one  under 
his  charge  should  prove  similarly  faithful,  the 
preceding  pages  have  abundantly  proved.  We 
may  therefore  pass  on  to  the  next  vow. 

2.     POVERTY. 

"Hath  not  God  chosen  the  poor  of  this  world, 
rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which 
God  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  Him?" 

(James  ii,  5.) 

Absolute  poverty  of  the  community  as  well  as 
of  the  individual  friar  is  the  distinctive  charac- 
teristic of  the  Franciscan  Order.  Every  mem- 
ber imbued  with  the  spirit  of  St.  Francis  aims  to 
be  unhampered  by  worldly  possessions.  As  a 
most  perfect  observer  of  the  vows,  Fr.  Magin 
at  his  mission  led  such  a  life  of  abject  poverty 
that  it  called  forth  the  astonishment  of  all  that 
became  acquainted  with  him.  His  habit  was 
made  of  cloth  coarsely  woven  by  the  Indians 
from  home-spun  wool.  The  color,  judging  from 
pieces  found  in  the  tomb  of  the  holy  man  on 
opening  it  in  November  1907,  was  brown.  His 
room  was  furnished  in  the  most  primitive  style 
in  accordance  with  the  highest  ideals  of  re- 
ligious poverty.  It  contained  nothing  that  could 
be  spared,  and  would  have  delighted  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi  or  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara.  There  was 
no  bed.  If  Fr.  Magin  lay  down  at  all  for  rest, 


130 


he  slept  on  the  bare  floor,  or  at  most  upon  a 
hide  or  blanket,  without  undressing.  An  adobe 
brick  served  for  a  pillow.  The  cell  which  still 
exists  is  situated  on  the  first  floor  of  the  Jesuit 
College  facing  the  East  and  next  to  church 
building.  The  wall  of  adobe  on  the  front  meas- 
ures four  feet  in  thickness ;  the  two  partitions, 
also  of  adobe  or  sunburnt  brick,  are  three  feet 
thick.  The  church  wall  on  the  north  of  the  room 
formerly  measured  five  feet  through,  and  it  like- 
wise consisted  of  adobe.-  There  was  no  window 
in  this  little  room,  but  there  was  a  door  opening 
upon  the  front  corridor,  and  another  leading  to 
the  next  room  which  may  have  been  occupied  by 
Fr.  Jose  Viader,  or  according  to  some  may  have 
been  a  reception  room.  In  the  corridor  stood  a 
long  wooden  bench.  Here  the  holy  man  fre- 
quently sat  when  not  at  his  prayers  in  Church 
or  otherwise  employed.  It  was  here,  too,  that  he 
received  the  visitors.  There  may  have  been  a 
pane  of  glass  or  two  in  the  front  door  of  his 
cell,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  that  effect.  On 
the  wall  could  be  seen  a  cheap  crucifix  and  a 
paper  picture  of  our  Lady.  A  small  table  and  a 
wooden  chair  completed  the  whole  outfit.  The 
writer  took  the  dimensions  of  this  hallowed  cell 
and  found  them  to  be  as  follows:  Length,  east 
to  west  along  the  church  wall  inside,  three  yards 
and  ten  inches ;  width,  three  yards  and  two 
inches ;  height,  three  yards  and  three  inches. 


131 


Like  St.  Francis,  Fr.  Magin  would  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  money.  He  would  never  even 
touch  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact  all  the  early  Fran- 
ciscan missionaries,  in  obedience  to  the  letter  of 
their  Rule,  followed  a  similar  course.  Though 
placed  in  absolute  control  of  the  mission  tempo- 
ralities, which  before  the  Mexican  War  of  In- 
dependence, 1811-1821,  had  grown  to  be  of  con- 
siderable value,  the  Fathers  regarded  themselves 
merely  as  stewards.  Not  one  of  the  missionaries 
could  or  did  accumulate  anything  for  himself, 
his  relatives,  his  College  in  Mexico,  his  Order,  or 
for  the  Church  at  large.  Not  as  much  as  a  curio 
was  sent  to  the  College  of  San  Fernando  or  any- 
where else.  Everything  was  managed  for  the 
benefit  of  the  neophyte  Indians.  Even  the  sti- 
pends or  annual  allowance,  personal  donations 
for  holy  Masses,  or  gifts  of  any  kind  to  the  mis- 
sionaries went  into  the  common  fund  for  the 
Indians.  All  statements  to  the  contrary,  as  fre- 
quently found  in  magazines  or  so-called  his- 
tories, are  calumnies. 

Fr.  Magin  carried  the  rule  to  extremes  in- 
deed, but  no  farther  than  St.  Francis  himself, 
who  possessed  a  holy  horror  for  money.  The 
faithful  holy  steward  of  Mission  Santa  Clara 
would  not  even  personally  accept  money  that 
was  paid  for  goods  purchased  from  the  store- 
house. He  would  call  the  majordomo  to  take 
the  coin.  When  urged  to  accept  some  money 


132 


for  himself,  he  would  decline  and  say,  "It  will 
not  open  the  door  of  heaven."  How  scrupulous 
the  good  Father  must  have  been  with  regard  to 
the  property  of  the  mission,  we  can  infer  from 
his  solicitude  for  little  things.  It  sometimes 
happened  that  bits  of  food  and  crumbs  would  be 
thrown  away.  This  he  would  not  tolerate.  He 
would  distribute  provisions  without  stint  to  his 
great  Indian  family,  and  particularly  to  the  help- 
less and  poor,  whilst  he  would  deny  himself 
every  comfort  or  convenience.  Some  witnesses 
speak  of  an  old  straw  hat  which  they  claim  be- 
longed to  the  holy  man,  and  which  they  would 
use  as  a  relic  to  obtain  relief  from  their  mal- 
adies. Whether  he  wore  such  a  covering  for 
the  head,  it  is  impossible  to  determine.  Possibly 
he  did  wear  it  when  he  had  to  walk  about  the 
mission  or  make  visits  to  the  sick  at  great  dis- 
tances in  the  hot  summer  season;  but  there  is 
no  evidence  to  that  effect.  He  wore  the  cowl 
drawn  far  over  his  brow,  however,  as  we  have 
already  stated.  His  meals  were  as  scanty  as 
possible ;  no  beggar  fared  worse  all  the  year 
round  than  the  saintly  manager  of  the  populous 
and  prosperous  Mission  of  Santa  Clara.  Hence 
everything  about  Fr.  Magin  bespeaks  the  high- 
est degree  of  religious  poverty. 


133 

3.    CHASTITY. 

"O  hozv  beautiful  is  the  chaste  generation  with 
glory!  for  the  memory  thereof  is  immortal,  be- 
cause it  is  known  both  zuith  God  and  zvith 
men."  (Wisdom  iv,  1.) 

This  queenly  virtue  is  the  beauty  of  the  soul. 
Without  it  the  religious  would  be  unworthy  of 
the  sacred  habit.  Chastity  is  easily  stained  and 
easily  lost.  Therefore  all  lovers  of  this  sublime 
virtue  exercise  the  greatest  care  lest  they  en- 
danger the  priceless  jewel.  Fr.  Magin  may  ap- 
pear to  have  gone  to  extremes  for  employing 
such  odd  means  to  preserve  himself  "unspotted 
from  the  world."  However,  when  the  spirit  that 
controls  the  world  and  its  votaries,  by  means 
of  lax  notions  on  morality,  is  continually  en- 
gaged in  laying  snares  for  the  virtue  of  the  in- 
nocent and  unwary,  we  need  not  wonder  that 
Godfearing  souls  like  Fr.  Magin  withdraw  from 
human  society  altogether  and  choose  drastic 
methods  in  order  to  preserve  the  beauty  of  the 
soul.  It  is  then  -the  worldly-minded  receive  an 
opportunity  to  learn  what  God's  views  are  on 
the  subject.  His  views  never  agree  with  those 
of  the  world ;  but  they  can  be  most  quickly  as- 
certained from  the  conduct  of  the  saints ;  for 
the  lives  of  the  saints  is  the  Gospel  put  into 
practice. 

Owing  to  his  position   Fr.   Magin  could  not 


134 


exclude  himself  from  the  world  entirely ;  but  like 
the  saints  he  determined  to  shut  out  the  world 
from  his  vision  and  his  thoughts.  He  fled  the 
very  shadow  of  impropriety.  His  shyness  for 
women  was  proverbial,  as  we  have  already 
stated  when  treating  of  his  virtue  of  prudence. 
When  women  or  young  girls  approached  to 
speak  to  him,  the  holy  man  conducted  himself 
with  great  reserve.  He  would  indeed  listen  to 
them,  gently  in  a  few  words  give  the  counsel 
they  needed,  and  then  dismiss  them.  It  was 
customary  with  the  Indians  and  colonists,  male 
and  female,  to  kiss  the  consecrated  hand  of  the 
priest.  Fr.  Magin  would  not  permit  this,  least 
of  all  on  the  part  of  females.  In  fact,  save  for 
the  purpose  of  administering  the  Sacraments  to 
the  sick,  the  holy  man  would  not  converse  with 
females  about  their  spiritual  affairs  outside  the 
confessional. 

When  the  holy  missionary  walked  about  in 
pursuit  of  his  duties  he  would  fasten  the  eyes  to 
the  ground.  His  gait  was  modest  and  dignified. 
According  to  the  regulations  of  the  missionaries 
in  California,  no  women  or  girls  were  permitted 
to  attend  the  Fathers  or  to  enter  the  quarters  of 
the  priests.  The  part  of  the  building  contain- 
ing the  rooms  of  the  missionaries  was  frequently 
called  coni'ento,  because  inaccessible  to  females. 
Hence  the  cooking  and  all  housework  was  per- 
formed by  Indian  men  or  youths.  It  is  hardly 


135 


necessary  to  affirm  that  Fr.  Magin  would  tolerate 
no  infraction  of  this  rule,  though  in  his  last  ill- 
ness he  is  said  to  have  accepted  food  specially 
prepared  for  him  by  the  mother  of  Juan  Crisos- 
tomo.  It  was  the  latter  who  brought  the  meals 
from  his  mother's  house,  however. 

Nevertheless,  the  female  portion  of  his  flock 
entertained  the  greatest  reverence  and  love  for 
the  holy  man.  No  others  after  his  death  applied 
to  him  with  such  confidence  as  the  women ;  for, 
after  all,  they  had  never  pleaded  in  vain  for 
anything  when  they  came  to  him  with  their 
troubles.  Nor  were  they  disappointed,  as  we 
shall  see  later. 

Fr.  Magin,  unless  duty  so  dictated,  would  not 
pay  visits  to  private  houses ;  nor  would  he 
attend  banquets  or  festivities  held  on  occasion 
of  marriages  or  births.  He  would,  moreover, 
never  take  meals  outside  the  mission  buildings, 
save  when  he  had  to  celebrate  holy  Mass  at  San 
Jose  on  Sundays  or  holydays. 

"Wine  is  a  luxurious  thing,"  *  Holy  Writ 
declares;  hence  Fr.  Magin  abstained  from  wine 
in  order  to  preclude  every  danger  to  the  virtue 
which  he  prized  above  anything  in  the  world. 
Furthermore  he  kept  his  body  in  subjection  by 
severe  mortifications,  as  we  have  seen  in  the 
proper  place. 


*  Proverbs  xx,  1;   Ephes.  v,  18. 


136 


HUMILITY. 

"When  you  shall  have  done  all  the  things  that 
are  commanded  you,  say,  'We  are  unprofitable 
servants;  we  have  done  that  which  we  ought 
to  do.'"  (Luke  xvii,  10.) 

We  now  conclude  with  the  last  virtue  de- 
manding special  consideration — humility.  It  is 
really  the  first  in  order,  the  foundation  for  all 
others,  inasmuch  as  without  humility  all  other 
virtues  are  impossible.  Still  it  may  be  dwelt 
upon  here  with  propriety,  because,  even  if  it 
were  possible  for  a  soul  to  possess  the  theo- 
logical, cardinal  and  other  virtues  in  the  highest 
degree,  that  soul  could  not  retain  them  unless 
they  were  supported  by  humility.  Humility,  in 
reality,  may  be  called  the  touchstone  of  every 
Christian  virtue. 

Humility  teaches  us  to  recognize  our  own 
weakness,  sinfulness,  and  wretchedness,  and  to 
look  upon  everything  good  we  possess  as  coming 
from  God.  Fr.  Magin's  humility  effectually 
barred  insight  into  his  interior  life.  He  shrank 
from  publicity,  and  therefore  his  closest  friends 
or  daily  attendants  were  unable  to  furnish  any 
information  as  to  what  the  holy  man  thought  of 
himself  or  his  work.  Fr.  Viader,  who  knew 
him  best,  might  have  transmitted  a  complete  de- 
scription of  his  companion's  life;  but  he  is  ab- 
solutely silent,  probably  in  deference  to  his 


137 


senior's  wishes.  We  are  thus  compelled  to  reach 
the  facts  in  a  roundabout  way,  which  is  most 
laborious  and  cannot  but  fail  to  give  satisfaction. 

Agreeably  to  his  love  for  the  hidden  life,  we 
may  attribute  to  his  humility  that  he  wrote  next 
to  nothing.  As  the  head  of  a  populous  Indian 
mission,  and  as  pastor  of  San  Jose  City,  he  had 
abundant  occasions  to  write  letters,  draw  up 
documents,  and  make  the  annual  and  bi-annual 
reports.  Yet,  though  he  held  his  position  for 
thirty-six  years,  there  is  not  one  document  or 
letter  written  by  him  alone  in  existence.  All 
such  correspondence  was  preserved  at  Mon- 
terey, and  there  are  thousands  of  letters  from 
other  Fathers  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Santa 
Barbara  and  at  the  cathedral  of  San  Francisco, 
but  only  three  unsigned  copies  of  letters  from 
Fr.  Magin.  Lest  he  himself  be  brought  before 
the  world,  the  holy  man  left  all  such  work  to 
Fr.  Jose  Viader ;  and  Fr.  Viader  it  is  who  figures 
everywhere  and  at  all  times  as  the  representative 
and  manager  of  Santa  Clara.  Fr.  Magin  seems 
to  have  delighted  in  being  overlooked  and  in 
staying  in  the  background. 

It  was,  doubtless,  also  the  sense  of  unworthi- 
ness,  and  not  only  love  of  recollection,  that  made 
him  keep  the  eyes  to  the  ground  as  one  not  de- 
serving to  walk  the  earth.  Of  himself  he  never 
spoke  either  good  or  bad.  He  probably  thought 
there  was  no  need  to  say  anything  bad,  as  people 


139 


would  realize  it  without  being  told ;  and  as  for 
the  good,  he  judged  there  was  none.  This  was 
true  humility.  The  thought  of  his  utter  insig- 
nificance before  the  face  of  God  prevented  him 
from  showing  resentment  or  anger  at  ill-treat- 
ment. If  ever  he  felt  those  movements  of  pas- 
sion at  all,  he  must  have  possessed  wonderful 
self-control,  for  no  one  ever  saw  him  angry. 
The  same  low  opinion  of  himself  added  to  his 
gentleness  and  considerateness  in  his  dealings 
with  the  dull  and  fickle-minded  Indians  as  well 
as  with  the  more  wayward  colonists.  He  con- 
ducted himself  at  all  times  as  the  same  affable, 
patient,  and  solicitous  father  of  all.  Hence  he 
was  beloved  by  all  classes,  though  his  person- 
ality inspired  awe  rather  than  familiarity.  Nor 
would  he  speak  against  any  one  or  permit  the 
speech  that  hurts,  though  in  his  sermons  he 
would  not  hesitate  to  denounce  vice.  Frequently 
he  would  threaten  unprepared  deaths  for  those 
that  persistently  gave  themselves  to  dangerous 
amuse^ments.  Nor  was  it  mere  prudence  which 
forbade  him  to  allow  people,  especially  women, 
to  kiss  his  hand.  More  probably  a  deep  sense  of 
unworthiness  prompted  him  to  reach  out  the 
cord  or  the  sleeve  of  his  habit  for  veneration  in- 
stead. The  cord  or  the  habit  in  his  estimation 
was  sacred ;  but  himself  the  holy  man  could  not 
deem  worthy  of  reverence.  Whatever  good  he 


140 


possessed,  or  whatever  good  he  effected,  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  dutifully  ascribed  to  God. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  saintly  missionary  during 
life  succeeded  in  hiding  his  gifts,  graces,  and 
good  works  before  the  world.  On  that  very  ac- 
count Almighty  God  has  glorified  His  faithful 
servant  after  death,  as  we  shall  see  in  Part  III. 
Let  us  hope  and  pray  that  Mother  Church  may 
set  the  seal  of  her  approval  upon  the  life  of  Fr. 
Magin  Catala,  so  that  the  words  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture may  eventually  apply  to  our  California  mis- 
sionary, "Nations  shall  declare  his  wisdom ;  and 
the  Church  shall  shew  forth  his  praise."  * 

LET  US  PRAY. 

O  God,  Who  didst  send  Thy  servant,  Magin 
Catala,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Indians  among 
whom  he  glorified  Thee  by  his  life  and  his  deeds ; 
for  the  greater  glory  of  Thy  Holy  Name  honor 
him  on  earth  with  the  miracles  and  the  splendor 
of  the  saints ;  grant  us  through  his  merits  all 
manner  of  blessings,  and  fill  our  minds  with  the 
light  of  Thy  Truth,  that  walking  in  the  way  of 
Thy  Commandments  we  may  finally  come  to 
Thee.  Amen.  (Approved  by  His  Grace,  the 
Archbishop  of  San  Francisco.) 


*  Eccli.   xxxix,   14. 


PART  III. 
MIRACLES  AND  PROPHECIES. 


143 


"Amen,  Amen,  I  say  to  you,  he  that  believeth 
in  me,  the  works  that  I  do,  he  shall  do  also, 
and  greater  than  I  shall  he  do." 

(John  xiv,  12.) 

Almighty  God  was  pleased  to  manifest  His 
pleasure  with  the  holy  life  of  His  servant  by 
conferring  upon  Fr.  Magin  the  power  of  work- 
ing miracles  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow  men. 
This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  possibility  of 
those  extraordinary  occurrences  which  are 
called  miracles.  Those  that  feel  inclined  to  cur- 
tail the  power  of  the  Omnipotent  over  His 
creation  may  have  their  doubts  dispelled  and 
their  notions  easily  corrected  by  turning  to  the 
treatises  on  the  subject  which  are  accessible  to 
every  lover  of  truth.  The  sanctity  of  a  soul,  we 
repeat,  is  not  dependent  upon  the  gift  of  effect- 
ing prodigies  and  wonders ;  but  if  God  in  His 
goodness  deigns  to  distinguish  a  faithful  ser- 
vant in  that  manner,  it  behooves  us  to  adore  the 
power  of  the  Creator,  who  is  so  wonderful  in 
His  saints,  and  to  profit  by  its  manifestation. 

The  incidents  enumerated  on  the  following 
pages  have  been  critically  examined  and  found 
to  be  historically  true,  whatever  their  merit  as 
miracles  may  be.  Every  statement  has  been 
corroborated  under  oath  by  contemporaries  of 


144 

Fr.  Magin,  or  by  their  immediate  descendants 
who  lived  in  various  sections  of  the  coast  from 
San  Rafael  to  Mission  San  Antonio.  The  evi- 
dence, in  most  cases,  was  given  under  oath  at 
the  homes  of  the  respective  individuals,  and  in 
the  presence  of  priests  or  other  trustworthy  per- 
sons. Later,  nearly  all  these  witnesses  testi- 
fied before  the  Ecclesiastical  Court  at  Santa 
Clara.  As  a  rule,  nothing  was  included  in  this 
narrative  that  rested  upon  the  testimony  of  one 
person  only.  Hence,  from  an  historical  point  of 
view,  the  depositions,  repeated  here,  as  nearly 
as  practicable,  in  the  simple  language  of  the  wit- 
nesses, are  all  that  could  be  desired. 


145 

I.     MIRACLES  DURING  HIS  LIFETIME. 
VARIOUS    MIRACLES. 

"Amen  I  say  to  you,  if  you  have  faith  as  a 
grain  of  mustard-seed,  you  shall  say  fo  this 
mountain:  Remove  from  hence  to  yonder 
place,  and  it  shall  move,  and  nothing  shall  be 
impossible  to  you."  (Matt,  xvii,  19.) 

"They  shall  lay  their  hands  upon  the  sick,  and, 
they  shall  recover."  (Mark  xvi,  18.) 

On  one  occasion  while  Fr.  Magin  was 
journeying  with  two  guards  and  two  Indians 
through  a  dry  country  in  the  hot  season,  the 
men  complained  of  thirst.  The  servant  of  God 
told  them  to  go  to  a  certain  spot  which  he  in- 
dicated, and  there  they  should  find  water  to 
drink.  The  astonished  natives  declared  that 
there  was  no  water  in  the  whole  region.  The 
Father,  nevertheless,  directed  them  to  refresh 
themselves  with  the  water  which  they  should 
see  flowing  from  beneath  a  rock.  Still  in- 
credulous, but  to  convince  Fr.  Magin  that  no 
water  existed  in  the  neighborhood,  the  men 
went  away.  On  reaching  the  place  they  indeed 
discovered  the  rock  and  the  water  coming  out 
of  the  earth  beneath.  Soldiers  and  Indians  alike 
were  amazed,  as  no  one  had  ever  heard  of  the 
presence  of  water  in  that  locality.  After  they 


146 


had  refreshed  themselves,  the  journey  was  con- 
tinued. When  they  returned  the  same  way,  the 
guards  and  Indians  visited  the  spot  where  they 
had  satisfied  themselves  before,  but  both  rock 
and  water  had  disappeared.  One  of  the  mysti- 
fied soldiers  was  the  father  of  Gabriel  Cipriano, 
who  testified  before  the  Archbishop  in  1884. 
His  evidence  is  corroborated  by  Francisco  Ro- 
mano Soto,  Maria  Josefa  Berreyesa,  Romana 
Miramontes,  Hedwige  Miramontes,  Felix  Buel- 
na,  Rudolfo  Miramontes,  and  Clara  F.  Sunol, 
the  granddaughter  of  Juan  Crisostomo  Galindo. 

A  similar  incident  was  related  by  Philip  a 
Jesus  Gonzalez,  who  had  it  from  an  Indian 
named  Felix,  one  of  the  company  favored  in 
this  way.  Felix  says :  "I  and  some  Indians 
were  perishing  from  thirst  in  a  region  where 
there  was  no  water.  Suddenly  Fr.  Magin  ap- 
peared and  asked  us  what  the  matter  was.  We 
told  him  that  we  were  dying  for  want  of  water 
to  drink.  'Go  over  there,'  he  said,  'and  you  will 
find  water.'  The  Indians  were  surprised,  for 
no  water  had  ever  been  known  to  exist  any- 
where in  the  neighborhood.  We  went  there,  and 
joyfully  discovered  very  much  water  to  drink." 

Secundino  Robles  related  under  oath  that, 
when  he  was  a  boy  already  well  grown  up,  at 
one  time  innumerable  locusts  or  grasshoppers, 
called  chapiilas  by  the  Indians,  settled  down  upon 
the  fields  and  orchards  and  devoured  everything 


147 


green  in  Santa  Clara  Valley.  The  afflicted  people 
appealed  to  Fr.  Magin  for  help.  The  servant  of 
God  directed  some  of  the  insects  to  be  brought 
to  him.  When  he  saw  them,  he  said:  "Let  us 
go  into  the  church."  There  he  put  on  his  stole, 
recited  some  prayers,  and  then  ordered  the  lo- 
custs to  be  taken  back  where  they  had  been 
caught.  No  sooner  had  the  little  creatures  been 
set  at  liberty  in  the  field,  when  all  the  locusts 
rose  in  a  body,  and  flying  away  plunged  into 
the  sea.  On  the  next  day  the  beach  for  three 
or  four  miles  was  covered  with  dead  locusts  to 
a  depth  of  about  three  feet.  The  people  again 
sowed  their  seeds  and  obtained  a  good  crop. 
This  fact  was  notorious.  Very  Rev.  Joachim 
Adam  of  Santa  Cruz  bore  witness  that  he  had 
heard  the  miracle  from  Romano  Rodriguez. 
Secundino  Robles'  narrative  was  affirmed  by 
Encarnacion  Pacheco,  who  also  knew  Fr.  Magin 
well.  Other  witnesses  were  Maria  Alviso 
Rodriguez,  Filomena  Pombera,  Merced  Castro, 
Maria  Miramontes,  Ramona  Miramontes,  and 
Maria  del  Pilar  Larios,  who  all  had  known  Fr. 
Magin  personally,  and  were  aware  of  the 
miracle. 

Secundino  Robles  also  relates  the  following 
incident.  "One  year,  about  1823  or  1824,  the 
whole  valley  was  suffering  from  a  great  drought. 
It  had  not  rained  during  the  entire  preceding 
winter,  nor  in  the  spring  that  succeeded  it. 


148 

About  5,000  sheep  perished.  In  other  places 
the  people  suffered  similarly.  The  inhabitants, 
therefore,  asked  Fr.  Magin  for  relief.  He  in- 
vited all  the  people  to  join  him  in  prayer  for 
rain.  It  was  the  month  of  April.  A  day  was 
set  apart  for  a  solemn  procession  to  beg  Heaven 
for  pity  upon  the  people.  After  holy  Mass, 
during  which  Fr.  Magin  preached,  the  proces- 
sion set  out  from  the  church  and  wended  its 
way  .through  the  Alameda  halfway  to  San 
Jose,  and  then  turned  back.  The  great  Crucifix, 
surrounded  by  many  burning  candles,  was  borne 
in  the  procession.  When  the  praying  multitude 
had  reached  the  last  station  of  the  Way  of  the 
Cross  erected  along  the  Alameda,  a  black  cloud 
was  seen  far  away  in  the  mountains  to  the  west. 
It  grew  larger  and  wider  and  approached  rap- 
idly. When  we  were  about  300  or  600  feet  from 
the  church,  the  rain  began  to  fall  in  torrents 
and  it  was  accompanied  by  a  heavy  wind.  We 
boys  wondered  greatly  that  the  candles  which 
we  bore  were  not  extinguished  by  the  wind,  but 
kept  on  burning.  Much  rain  fell  for  seven  or 
eight  days.  The  water  in  the  streams  rose  so 
high  that  many  people  could  not  go  back  to  their 
distant  homes  for  some  time.  The  fields  were 
again  ploughed  in  May,  grain  was  sown,  and  a 
good  harvest  was  obtained.  I  remember  this 
well,  for  I  was  about  fourteen  years  old,  and 
was  one  of  the  boys  that  carried  candles." 


149 


Many  desperate  cases  of  women  in  labor  were 
told  by  a  number  of  witnesses,  which  all  ended 
happily.  Fr.  Magin,  except  in  one  instance, 
would  not  visit  the  sufferers,  but  instead  sent  a 
straw  hat,  which  he  is  said  to  have  used  occa- 
sionally. He  gave  directions  that  the  hat  should 
be  applied,  when  the  result  would  be  happy.  In 
two  cases,  Fr.  Magin  sent  his  girdle  with  the 
same  result.  Maria  Ignacia  Pacheco,  Felix 
Buelna,  Juana  Briones,  Guadalupe  Lorenzana, 
and  Maria  Rodriguez  are  the  witnesses  who  made 
depositions  on  the  subject.  A  great  many  more 
such  cases  occurred  after  Fr.  Magin's  death, 
which  will  be  related  in  their  place. 

Like  his  Seraphic  Father,  St.  Francis,  Fr. 
Magin  seems  to  have  exercised  a  great  power 
over  wild  beasts.  A  case  is  told  by  Maria 
Josefa  Berreyesa  and  corroborated  by  another 
person.  The  girls  of  the  mission,  under  the 
watchful  eye  of  the  servant  of  God,  had  gone  to 
cut  grass  for  the  domestic  animals.  While  at 
work  a  bear  suddenly  rushed  from  a  thicket  upon 
the  frightened  children.  Their  screams  at- 
tracted Fr.  Magin,  who  fortunately  was  near. 
When  he  saw  the  beast  he  walked  towards  it, 
and  gently  told  it  not  to  harm  the  girls.  As 
though  understanding  the  holy  man,  the  shaggy 
brute  turned  and  quietly  trudged  away. 


150 
POWER   OVER   EVIL    SPIRITS. 

"In  my  name  they  shall  cast  out  devils." 

(Mark  xvi,  17.) 

It  seems  that  the  servant  of  God  had  full 
power  over  the  spirits  of  darkness,  as  the  follow- 
ing instances  show.  On  one  occasion,  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  which  was  very  hot,  the  people 
saw  Fr.  Magin,  in  surplice  and  stole,  going  along 
the  Alameda  reciting  prayers,  just  as  he  was 
wont  to  do  when  he  exorcised  persons  and  places 
that  were  thought  to  be  possessed  by  evil  spirits. 
He  said  that  he  was  exorcising  not  only  a  few, 
but  a  whole  legion  of  devils  who  had  come  to 
cause  destruction  to  the  people  of  San  Jose.  As 
a  result,  though  everything  was  quiet,  clouds  of 
dust  were  seen  to  rise  as  though  a  whole  drove 
of  cattle  were  passing  along  the  road ;  terrible 
noises,  howlings  and  shrieks  were  heard,  together 
with  the  sounds  of  horns  and  the  bellowing  of 
wild  beasts.  Then  all  was  silent.  Fr.  Magin 
explained  that  the  evil  spirits  had  gone  away, 
some  taking  one  road,  some  another,  but  that  he 
had  commanded  them  not  to  go  to  San  Jose. 
That  the  Alameda  especially  must  have  annoyed 
the  powers  of  darkness,  may  be  well  understood 
from  the  fact  that  the  fourteen  Stations  of  the 
Cross  lined  the  road ;  that  it  was  on  the  Alameda 
where  the  public  outdoor  devotions  took  place : 
and  that  it  was,  by  reason  of  the  shade,  an  easy 


151 


means  for  the  people  of  San  Jose  to  visit  Santa 
Clara  Mission  Church  to  hear  Fr.  Magin  preach. 
Even  after  the  pueblo  had  its  own  church,  the 
townspeople  would  visit  the  mission  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  listening  to  the  holy  man's  sermons. 
The  surviving  witnesses  of  the  foregoing  occur- 
rence were  Maria  Hernandez  Miramontes,  Fran- 
cisca  Sepulveda,  Pilar  Ortega,  Maria  Larios, 
and  Encarnacion  Soto.  According  to  Francisco 
Palomares  and  Concepcion  Palomares,  evil  spir- 
its visited  the  Alameda  at  some  other  times,  pre- 
sumably to  frighten  the  settlers  from  going  to 
Santa  Clara ;  but  Fr.  Magin  scorned  their  antics 
and  assured  the  people  that  no  harm  would  come 
to  them. 

Pilar  Ortega  and  Maria  Pilar  Larios,  the 
latter  born  at  Mission  San  Jose  in  1798,  also  re- 
late that  once,  when  Fr.  Magin  was  about  to 
preach,  he  said  that  the  sermon  would  be  short, 
because  he  was  exhausted  from  fighting  with  the 
serpent  which  was  striving  to  devour  the  people 
of  San  Jose,  that  there  were  many  devils  going 
about  in  the  streets  by  threes  and  fours,  but  that 
he  had  exorcised  them,  and  that  they  had  dis- 
appeared. There  are  other  instances  related  of 
a  similar  character,  but  as  they  are  not  corrobo- 
rated by  trustworthy  witnesses,  they  are  omitted 
here. 

The  evil  spirit  appears  to  have  had  a  prefer- 
ence for  his  old  disguise.  Sometimes,  probably 


152 


against  his  will,  he  had  to  aid  the  holy  mis- 
sionary. Francisco  M.  Garcia,  an  uncle  of  Ro- 
mana  Flores,  who  with  others  gave  evidence  on 
the  subject,  was  exceedingly  fond  of  tobacco,  so 
much  so  that  even  while  the  servant  of  God  was 
preaching,  he  would  go  out  into  the  adjoining 
cemetery  to  enjoy  a  cigarette.  Fr.  Magin 
warned  him  not  to  give  such  bad  example. 
Garcia  nevertheless  continued  his  pastime.  One 
Sunday  he  again  left  the  church  for  the  cemetery 
while  the  holy  man  was  giving  his  usual  instruc- 
tion. Suddenly  the  Father  stopped  preaching 
and  said:  "Let  us  recite  an  Our  Father  and  a 
Hail  Mary  for  an  individual  who  is  about  to  be 
devoured  by  a  monster."  The  people  tremblingly 
joined  in  the  prayer,  for  they  knew  from  experi- 
ence what  such  announcements  meant.  While 
the  people  were  saying  those  prayers,  Garcia 
rushed  through  the  door  into  the  church,  ex- 
claiming that  a  big  snake  wanted  to  swallow  him. 
"It  was  not  merely  a  snake,"  Fr.  Magin  declared, 
"but  the  devil  himself."  From  that  day  forth 
Garcia  never  left  the  church  to  enjoy  himself  as 
he  had  done  before.  Besides  Romana  Flores, 
Petra  Soto,  Rafaela  Pacheco,  Maria  Ignacia 
Rodriguez,  and  Very  Rev.  Joachim  Adam  testi- 
fied to  the  truth  of  the  narrative.  Father  Adam 
says  he  had  the  particulars  from  Felix  Buelna 
and  Maria  (Majors)  Castro. 

A  Christian  Indian  once  ran  away  with  the 


153 


wife  of  another  neophyte.  Fr.  Magin  sent  the 
mission  guards  to  arrest  them.  When  both  had 
been  brought  back,  the  holy  man,  strangely 
enough,  had  them  both  locked  up  in  the  same 
room.  Soon  after  unearthly  screams  and  yells 
of  the  imprisoned  couple  caused  the  soldier  guard 
to  hasten  and  open  the  room.  The  terrified  pair 
explained  that  a  monster  snake  had  appeared  and 
was  about  to  devour  them.  The  frightful  vision 
effected  a  thorough  cure  from  their  unholy  pas- 
sion. Both  were  glad  to  return  to  their  legiti- 
mate partners  and  led  exemplary  lives  ever  after. 
Gabriel  Cipriano  brought  out  this  incident  in  the 
life  of  Fr.  Magin.  Gabriel  Cipriano  also  in- 
formed the  Commission  that  while  Fr.  Magin 
was  one  day  preaching,  he  told  the  faithful  not 
to  leave  the  church  immediately  after  holy 
Mass,  as  he  had  a  ceremony  to  perform.  He 
emerged  from  the  vestry  after  Divine  Service 
vested  in  surplice,  stole  and  cope,  and  went 
through  the  kneeling  multitude  to  the  front  door. 
There  for  some  time  he  recited  the  exorcisms 
against  evil  spirits.  Then  he  returned  to  the  rail- 
ing and  informed  the  people  that  three  legions 
of  devils  had  come  to  harm  them,  but  that  they 
were  now  driven  away.  Confiding  in  the  power 
of  their  pastor  the  multitude  thereupon  dis- 
persed. 

One  night  Fr.  Magin  visited  a  sick  person  in 
an  Indian  rancheria.     On  the  following  Sunday, 


154 


while  preaching,  he  related  that  on  this  occa- 
sion he  had  discovered  a  legion  of  evil  spirits 
there ;  that  he  had  exorcised  them  and  had  com- 
manded them  not  to  go  to  the  neighboring  vil- 
lage, whereupon  they  had  disappeared.  The 
holy  man  then  exhorted  his  hearers  to  fortify 
themselves  against  the  machinations  of  the  devil 
by  reciting  the  Rosary  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and 
thus  to  prevent  the  evil  spirits  from  taking  pos- 
session of  their  hearts. 

One  more  instance  of  Fr.  Magin's  power  over 
the  Evil  One  may  find  place  here.  "When  my 
daughter  was  dying,"  Petra  (Pacheco)  Soto 
told  Father  Benedict  Picardo,  S.  J.,  "she  seemed 
to  behold  a  terrible  monster  who  threw  some 
dirty  thing  over  her  face.  Fr.  Magin,  who  as- 
sisted the  young  woman  in  her  last  illness,  in 
tones  of  conviction  assured  the  terrified  mother. 
"Do  not  weep  for  your  daughter,"  he  said,  "the 
devil  was  working  against  her,  but  he  could  not 
prevail.  She  is  safe." 

It  will  surprise  those  that  are  not  acquainted 
with  the  spiritual  life  to  find  that  Fr.  Magin 
had  to  encounter  so  much  opposition  from  the 
powers  of  darkness.  Our  Lord  and  His 
Apostles  met  with  just  such  difficulties.  Had 
Fr.  Magin  been  an  ordinary  or  indifferent  worker 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  his  labors  would 
not  have  received  much  attention  from  the  evil 
spirits ;  but  inasmuch  as  the  holy  man  was  mak- 


155 


ing  extraordinary  efforts  to  break  their  power 
among  his  flock,  and  rescued  from  their  clutches 
many  a  soul  Satan  counted  as  already  his  own, 
the  devils  also  exerted  themselves  to  counteract 
the  influence  of  the  energetic  missionary. 

On  the  other  hand,  Fr.  Magin  seems  to  have 
been  rewarded  with  the  certain  knowledge  of  the 
eternal  salvation  of  souls  who  passed  out  of  this 
world,  albeit  they  were  detained  from  entering 
heaven  at  once  for  some  neglect.  Antonia 
Flores  related  an  instance  of  this  kind  before 
the  Ecclesiastical  Court.  "My  mother,"  she  said, 
"told  me  that,  while  she  lived  in  a  certain  house 
of  the  mission  where  my  father  was  one  of  the 
guards,  during  the  night  great  noises  and  much 
lamentation  were  heard.  She  was  very  much 
frightened,  as  she  imagined  that  a  malignant 
spirit  wanted  to  torment  the  family.  She  there- 
fore asked  Fr.  Magin  to  bless  the  house.  The 
holy  man  told  her  not  to  be  afraid;  that  the 
house  was  blessed,  but  that  a  poor  soul  wanted 
to  speak  to  her.  Too  much  afraid  to  receive  tho 
message,  my  mother  begged  the  servant  of  God 
to  come  to  the  house  and  find  out  what  the  soul 
wished.  He  declined ;  but  on  the  following  day 
he  asked  my  mother  whether  she  had  heard  any 
more  noises  during  the  past  night.  When  she 
replied  in  the  negative,  he  said :  'Do  you  know 
who  it  was?  It  was  the  soul  of  Francisco  who 
died  lately.  He  had  promised  to  have  a  holy 


156 


Mass  offered  up  in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
but  neglected  to  keep  his  promise.'  Fr.  Magin 
himself  had  celebrated  the  Mass  and  did  other 
things  to  relieve  the  poor  soul.  Thereafter  no 
more  trouble  was  experienced  at  the  house." 
This  incident  in  the  life  of  Fr.  Magin  is  corrobo- 
rated by  Mrs.  Clara  Suiiol.  Other  persons  were 
also  aware  of  the  holy  man's  action  in  this  case. 

PROPHECIES. 

"To  one  indeed  by  the  same  spirit  is  given  the 
word  of  wisdom    .    .    .   to  another  prophecy." 
(1  Cor.,  xii,  8,  10.) 

The  future  lies  open  to  Almighty  God  alone. 
If,  therefore,  an  individual  who  leads  a  spotless, 
religious  life,  possesses  certain  knowledge  of 
future  occurrences  or  of  what  in  a  natural  way 
cannot  be  perceived  by  him,  we  may  conclude 
that  he  is  enlightened  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and 
that  he  is  a  true  prophet.  Such  a  man  was  Fr. 
Magin  Catala,  whom  all  the  people  of  Central 
California  called  El  Profeta,  the  Prophet.  As 
a  rule  the  servant  of  God  would  make  his  pre- 
dictions while  preaching  from  the  pulpit  or  the 
altar  rail  during  holy  Mass.  The  instances 
which  have  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical authorities  through  the  sworn  testi- 
mony of  the  witnesses  are  given  in  the  following 
order. 


157 


As  early  as  Palm  Sunday,  1820  or  1821, 
Fr.  Magin  suddenly  interrupted  his  sermon  and 
said,  "Let  us  recite  an  Our  Father  and  a  Hail 
Mary  for  a  person  that  is  just  now  passing  out 
of  this  world  at  San  Jose  through  violent  death." 
Naturally  the  people  were  frightened,  as  many 
of  the  settlers  happened  to  be  present  at  the 
Indian  mission  on  that  day,  and  they  were  curi- 
ous to  know  who  might  be  the  victim.  No 
sooner  had  the  people  left  the  church  after  holy 
Mass,  than  a  messenger  arrived  with  the  news 
that  a  woman  known  as  Mariquita,  the  wife  of 
Martinez,  had  been  killed  by  the  cow  she  was 
milking.  Francisca,  the  daughter  of  the  unfor- 
tunate woman,  was  present  during  the  announce- 
ment made  by  Fr.  Magin.  The  accident  and  the 
prediction  caused  a  great  sensation  all  over  the 
country,  and  was  recounted  as  a  proof  of  the 
holy  man's  power  to  know  what  no  one  could 
know  naturally.  The  following  survivors  bore 
testimony  to  the  circumstances :  Francisca  Se- 
pulveda,  Encarnacion  Soto,  Juan  Bojorques,  Na- 
zario  Galindo  (then  an  altar  boy),  and  Antonia 
Flores  (another  daughter  of  Mariquita).  The 
following  had  the  information  from  their  imme- 
diate relatives,  who  had  been  present  in  the 
church:  Juan  Solano  Sibriam,  Gabriel  Cipriano, 
Rafaela  Pacheco,  Romana  Flores  (daughter  of 
the  victim),  Petra  Soto,  Maria  (Alviso)  Rodri- 
guez, Maria  Teresa  (de  la  Guerra)  Hartnell, 
and  Carlos  Castro. 


158 


On  one  feast  of  St.  Clare  the  servant  of  God 
during  the  sermon  ceased  speaking,  and  asked 
the  faithful  to  join  him  in  saying  one  Our  Father 
and  a  Hail  Mary  for  some  one  who  was  then  suf- 
fering sudden  death.  When  the  mystified  wor- 
shipers were  on  their  way  home,  they  met  some 
men  bearing  the  body  of  Salvador  Linarez,  who 
had  been  killed  by  a  horse.  Petra  Soto,  a  sur- 
viving eye-witness,  gave  evidence  in  this  case. 

Segundino  Robles  told  a  remarkable  case  at 
the  juridical  examination.  "I  well  remember," 
he  said,  "that  on  one  Sunday  we  were  gathering 
fruit  and  taking  them  to  the  house  of  Lucas  Al- 
tamirano  de  Larios,  who  was  walking  just  ahead 
of  me.  Scarcely  had  he  reached  the  door  when 
he  fell  dead.  Before  calling  his  wife  we  put  him 
on  a  bed  in  the  garden,  and  then  informed  Ge- 
ronima,  his  wife.  She  came  and  knelt  by  the 
side  of  her  husband,  but  when  she  noticed  that 
he  was  dead,  she  fainted  and  soon  after  also 
died.  Not  knowing  whether  both  were  really 
dead,  we  sent  for  Fr.  Magin,  but  as  he  was  cele- 
brating Mass  Fr.  Viader  made  himself  ready  to 
visit  the  house  of  sorrow.  It  appears  that  Fr. 
Magin  had  just  finished  the  holy  Sacrifice  before 
Fr.  Viader  departed  on  his  errand;  for  he 
told  Fr.  Viader  that  he  need  not  go,  as  the  two 
people  had  already  received  assistance.  Now, 
during  that  very  Mass  Fr.  Magin  asked  the  peo- 
ple to  recite  an  Our  Father  and  a  Hail  Mary  for 


159 


a  married  couple  that  was  very  soon  to  be  ex- 
tinguished. 'For  un  matrimonio  que  va  muy 
pronto  a  extinguir,'  were  the  words  used  by  the 
servant  of  God.  As  the  woman  had  been  with 
child,  which  a  doctor  named  Castro  failed  to 
save  by  an  operation,  Fr.  Magin's  prediction  be- 
came literally  true.  It  was  about  twelve  o'clock 
when  the  couple  died.  I  heard  from  my  parents 
that  the  holy  man  had  made  the  announcement 
in  church,  for  they  had  been  present.  Both,  Lu- 
cas and  his  wife,  were  buried  at  the  same  time. 
Other  witnesses  to  this  occurrence  were  Jose 
Solano  Sibriam,  Nazario  Galindo,  Damiana  Mar- 
tinez, and  Romana  Berenda. 

"On  another  Sunday,"  Segundino  Robles  tes- 
tified, "I  was  present  when  Fr.  Magin  said,  'Let 
us  pray  an  Our  Father  and  a  Hail  Mary  for  some 
one  who  is  going  to  die  from  an  accident  during 
the  coming  week.'  In  the  middle  of  that  same 
week  my  brother  Nieves  Robles  broke  his  neck 
and  died." 

"On  one  Sunday,"  Maria  Flores  relates,  "my 
mother  was  present  when  Fr.  Magin  told  the 
people  to  say  an  Our  Father  and  a  Hail  Mary 
because  a  misfortune  would  befall  some  one  dur- 
ing the  week.  Those  present  recited  the  prayers 
with  fervor,  for  they  knew  that  whatever  the 
holy  man  announced  would  surely  come  to  pass. 
Three  or  four  days  after  a  certain  Aguila  died 
suddenly." 


160 


Rudolfo  Miramontes  told  the  examiners  in 
1884,  "I  heard  my  uncle  say  that  he  was  present 
at  holy  Mass  when  Fr.  Magin  invited  us  all  to 
offer  an  Our  Father  and  a  Hail  Mary  with  him 
for  the  welfare  of  a  soul  that  must  leave  this 
world  through  sudden  death  that  very  day. 
Scarcely  had  the  awed  and  wondering  multitude 
dispersed,  when  Serafino  Arculeta  brought  the 
news  that  a  certain  Molina  had  just  been  killed 
by  a  horse.  My  uncle  saw  the  body  of  the  dead 
man." 

Merced  (  Ortega )  Castro  related  that  when  her 
nephew  one  day  made  himself  ready  to  catch  a 
horse  with  a  lasso,  his  mother  said  to  him,  "Don't 
go  out.  Fr.  Magin  announced  to-day  that  a  man 
and  his  horse  would  be  killed."  The  wilful  youth 
nevertheless  went  out  with  his  brother  and 
cousin.  In  throwing  the  lasso  both  horse  and 
rider  were  tangled  up,  and  both  fell  so  unfortu- 
nately as  to  break  their  necks  on  a  rock.  Maria 
Castro,  the  sister  of  the  dead  man,  Carlos  Cas- 
tro, the  father,  Gabriel  Cipriano,  and  Mrs.  Ma- 
ria Teresa  Hartnell  affirmed  the  testimony  of 
Merced. 

Juana  (Briones)  Miranda  gave  evidence  as 
follows :  "I  was  many  times  in  the  church  when 
Fr.  Magin  during  holy  Mass  would  ask  for  an 
Our  Father  and  a  Hail  Mary  on  account  of  some 
misfortune  which  was  to  take  place,  and  it  always 
came  to  pass,  a  death  by  falling  from  a  horse,  or 


161 


some  other  accident  just  as  he  would  predict  it. 
I  remember  that  in  Holy  Week  Fr.  Magin,  there- 
fore, exhorted  every  one  to  make  a  fervent  act 
of  contrition  before  going  to  bed,  and  another 
act  of  contrition  after  rising  in  the  morning  and 
to  pray  more,  because  no  one  could  know  when 
he  died.  Once  I  remember  he  stopped  preaching 
and  said,  'Let  us  recite  an  Our  Father  and  a 
Hail  Mary  for  one  who  is  going  to  die  within 
ten  days.'  On  the  tenth  day  we  heard  the  bell 
tolling  for  the  death  of  Jose  Mezquita,  and  two 
hours  later  again  for  the  death  of  Nicolasa  Her- 
rera.  The  woman  had  passed  away  suddenly. 
Both  were  buried  at  Santa  Clara  on  the  following 
day.  Gracia  Padilla  is  another  witness  to  the 
announcement  in  this  case. 

Encarnacion  Soto  declared  that  she  was  pres- 
ent on  one  St.  John's  feast,  when  horse  races 
were  held  as  was  usual  on  that  day.  Before  leav- 
ing Santa  Clara  Fr.  Magin  warned  the  young 
men,  and  said,  "Do  not  hurry ;  be  careful,  for  an 
accident  is  going  to  happen."  While  racing,  one 
of  the  young  men,  Juan  Mesa,  fell  from  his  horse 
and  was  killed  near  the  bridge  of  San  Jose. 

Rufino  Saiz,  Berta  Guadalupe,  Guadalupe  Pe- 
ralta,  and  Felix  Buelna,  frequently  heard  the 
servant  of  God  asking  for  the  usual  prayers  for 
the  victims  of  some  accident.  Whatever  he  an- 
nounced would  invariably  take  place,  so  that  the 


162 


people  began  to  tremble  whenever  he  asked  for 
the  one  Our  Father  and  Hail  Mary. 

Rafaela  (Pacheco)  Soto  testified  as  follows: 
"I  heard  from  my  mother,  who  on  that  Sunday 
went  to  holy  Mass  at  Santa  Clara  while  I  had 
to  stay  home  (I  remember  it  well  though  I  was 
only  seven  years  old),  that  Fr.  Magin  had  asked 
the  usual  Our  Father  and  Hail  Mary  for  one 
who  should  die  the  next  day,  Monday.  All 
wept,  not  knowing  who  it  might  be  that  should 
suffer  from  an  accident,  but  all  were  certain  that 
it  would  happen.  On  the  Monday,  about  ten  or 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Pedro  Pacheco 
fell  from  his  horse  at  San  Jose,  and  was  so  badly 
hurt  that  he  died  the  same  evening  at  six  o'clock. 
I  was  present."  This  Sunday  happened  to  be 
the  feast  of  the  Patronage  of  St.  Joseph,  which 
patronal  feast  of  the  city  was  celebrated  with 
horse-races  and  bullfights  the  day  after.  The 
people  had  come  from  all  the  country  around, 
even  as  far  as  Monterey.  Juan  Bojorques,  who 
gave  this  explanation,  also  said  that  Pedro's 
horse  was  thrown  by  the  bull  and  fell  upon  its 
rider.  The  sad  accident  put  an  end  to  the  bull- 
fight for  that  day.  Other  witnesses  to  the  proph- 
ecy in  the  church  were  Paulina  Berreyesa,  Segnn- 
dino  Robles,  Jose  Solano  Sibriam,  and  Nazario 
Galindo. 

Rafaela  (Pacheco)  Soto  also  relates  that  she" 
heard  from  her  aunt,  Encarnacion  Pacheco,  and 


163 


another  aunt,  that  on  one  San  Juan's  Day,  when 
the  people  were  wont  to  have  races,  the  servant 
of  God  during  the  holy  Sacrifice  warned  the 
faithful  to  proceed  on  the  journey  with  great 
care,  because  an  accident  would  happen,  and  that 
they  should  call  for  him  then.  After  Divine 
Service  the  women  mounted  their  horses  and 
rode  away.  One  of  the  women  on  her  way  to 
San  Jose  was  accompanied  by  her  son.  About  a 
mile  from  the  mission  the  young  man's  horse 
was  frightened  at  something  and  became  unruly. 
In  rushing  off,  the  animal  bore  down  on  his 
mother's  horse  which  became  uncontrollable  and 
ran  away.  The  poor  woman  was  thrown  off  and 
lay  like  one  dead.  Fr.  Magin  was  quickly  called. 
He  gave  her  the  Sacraments  and  then  she  ex- 
pired. Her  name  was  Pilar  Sanchez,  and  she 
was  the  wife  of  Higuerra.  Both  aunts  were 
present  when  Fr.  Magin  announced  that  the  ac- 
cident would  take  place.  Ignacio  Bernal  heard 
the  same  version  from  his  mother  and  his  aunt. 
Juana  Briones  claimed  to  have  been  present  on 
St.  Andrew's  Day,  which  was  a  Sunday  in  1818, 
when  Fr.  Magin  asked  an  Our  Father  and  a  Hail 
Mary  for  one  who  was  suddenly  passing  out  of 
the  world.  Two  or  three  days  later  she  accom- 
panied her  father  and  mother  to  Mission  San 
Juan,  and  while  traveling  they  discovered  the 
body  of  Antonio  Soto  lying  in  the  road.  This 
is  the  earliest  incident  of  an  apparently  won- 


164 


derful  manifestation  on  the  part  of  Fr.  Magin. 

It  may  be  asked  why,  if  Fr.  Magin  knew  these 
accidents  in  advance,  he  did  not  prevent  them 
or  notify  the  persons  in  question?  The  reason, 
doubtless,  is  the  same  which  Our  Lord  had  when 
he  warned  His  Apostles  to  "be  ready,  because  at 
what  hour  you  know  not  the  Son  of  Man  will 
come."  (Matt,  xxiv,  44.)  "Watch  ye,  there- 
fore; because  ye  know  not  the  day  nor  the 
hour."  (Matt,  xxv,  13.)  If  every  one  were 
ready  at  all  times,  that  is  to  say,  led  a  life  in 
keeping  with  the  Commandments  of  God  and 
His  Church,  death  would  be  a  welcome  friend 
who  transfers  the  soul  to  a  better  land.  Then 
Fr.  Magin  could  know  such  things  only  through 
divine  revelation.  This  special  revelation  was  a 
mark  of  favor  both  for  the  people  who  were 
thus  frequently  reminded  of  the  uncertainty  of 
life,  and  the  danger  of  living  in  sin,  and  for  the 
victim  who  in  this  way  through  the  prayers  of- 
fered up  for  him  received  the  extra  graces  which 
may  have  insured  his  eternal  destiny.  Moreover, 
the  holy  man  may  have  been  left  in  the  dark  as  to 
the  individual  and  merely  instructed  as  to  the 
accident  for  the  reasons  given ;  or  the  person, 
too,  might  have  been  designated  in  the  revela- 
tion. In  the  latter  case  Fr.  Magin  was  also  in- 
spired as  to  the  will  of  God  in  the  matter,  which 
was  merely  to  announce  the  misfortune,  but  not 
to  prevent  it.  It  was  enough,  by  means  of 


165 


prayer,  to  procure  the  necessary  graces  for  the 
person  in  question,  in  order  that  he  or  she  might 
pass  out  of  the  world  in  a  state  that  was  at  least 
free  from  mortal  sin. 

One  day  Fr.  Magin  informed  his  people  in 
church  that  his  own  mother  had  passed  away  in 
Spain,  and  he  wished  them  to  assist  at  the  novena 
of  holy  Masses  which  he  would  offer  up  for  the 
repose  of  her  soul.  About  six  months  later  the 
news  arrived  from  Spain  that  the  holy  man's 
mother  had  indeed  died  just  about  the  time  that 
he  announced  it  in  church.  Maria  del  Pilar  La- 
rios  and  Gabriel  Cipriano  were  the  surviving 
witnesses  of  this  remarkable  occurrence. 

A  certain  girl,  Pilar  Ortega  testified,  was  ac- 
cused of  a  crime  and  died  of  grief  in  consequence. 
Fr.  Magin  took  up  her  defense,  and  one  day 
publicly  declared  that  the  charge  was  a  calumny ; 
that  he  knew  the  originator  of  the  slander  (who 
happened  to  be  present)  ;  and  that  moreover  he 
knew  the  innocent  girl  was  saved. 

Juana  (Briones)  Miranda  told  the  following 
incident :  "My  little  boy  was  ill,  and  I  went  for 
some  olive  oil  for  him  to  the  holy  man.  He  said 
to  me,  'There  is  nothing  the  matter  with  thy 
child,  but  go  and  visit  thy  sister,  who  is  very  ill. 
Take  this  tallow  along  and  make  a  poultice. 
Apply  it  where  she  has  pain.'  I  did  not  know 
that  my  sister  was  sick.  I  therefore  asked  the 
Father,  'What  does  Your  Reverence  say?  Is  my 


166 


sister  very  ill?'  'Somewhat,'  he  replied.  More 
he  did  not  say.  While  I  was  speaking  with  the 
holy  man,  my  sister's  husband  arrived  to  ask  the 
Father  to  bring  the  Sacraments  to  his  wife.  My 
sister  lived  about  five  or  six  leagues  from  the 
mission.  When  I  reached  home,  I  found  my 
boy  well.  I  then  went  into  the  country  to  see  my 
sister.  I  found  her  so  weak  that  she  could  not 
speak.  I  prepared  the  poultice  after  the  manner 
Fr.  Magin  had  directed.  Scarcely  was  it  applied, 
when  she  asked  for  a  drink  of  water.  Broth 
was  given  her,  and  then  I  put  on  another  poul- 
tice and  soon  she  was  well.  I  forgot  to  say  that 
when  Fr.  Magin  gave  me  the  simple  remedy  he 
said,  'This  is  the  way  St.  Teresa  cured  the  sick.'  " 
"When  I  was  a  boy,"  Juan  Bojorques  con- 
cluded his  evidence  at  the  examination,  "my 
mother  sent  me  and  my  little  brother  for  some 
roses.  We  had  to  pass  the  mission  building  on 
the  front.  Fr.  Magin  was  sitting  in  the  corridor 
on  a  bench.  When  he  saw  us  he  called  me  and 
said,  'Whither  art  thou  going,  Juanito?'  'I  am 
going  to  pick  some  roses,'  I  replied.  'Good, 
good,'  he  said,  and  kept  his  seat.  When  we 
came  to  the  rose-bushes  some  distance  away,  my 
little  brother  could  not  reach  the  flowers.  He 
tried  but  only  scratched  his  hands.  I  grew 
angry  and  struck  him.  When  we  returned  the 
same  way,  the  Father  was  still  sitting  on  the 
bench.  As  soon  as  he  saw  us,  he  called  me. 


167 


'Come  here,'  he  said;  'why  didst  thou  strike  thy 
little  brother?'  'No,  Father,'  said  I,  'I  did  not 
strike  him.'  Fr.  Magin  then  said,  'Thy  little 
brother  could  not  reach  the  roses ;  why  didst  thou 
not  gather  them  for  him  ?  Thou  deservest  a  pun- 
ishment.' I  was  amazed,  because  he  could  not 
walk,  and  he  did  not  move.  How  could  he  see 
me?" 

In  the  last  year  of  his  life  Fr.  Magin  would 
preach  the  most  fervent  sermons  while  seated  in 
a  chair  before  the  sanctuary  railing.  It  appears 
that  Almighty  God  in  those  days  allowed  His 
servant  a  distinct  view  of  the  future  of  Califor- 
nia. There  were  still  many  witnesses  alive  in 
1884  who  under  oath  declared  that  the  holy  man 
had  preached  substantially  as  follows :  People 
from  almost  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  will  come 
to  this  coast.  Another  flag  will  come  from  the 
East  and  the  people  that  follow  it  will  speak  an 
altogether  different  language,  and  they  will  have 
a  different  religion.  These  people  will  take  pos- 
session of  the  country  and  the  lands.  On  ac- 
count of  their  sins  the  Californians  will  lose  their 
lands  and  become  poor,  and  many  of  their  chil- 
dren's children  will  give  up  their  own  religion. 
The  Indians  will  be  dispersed,  and  will  not  know 
what  to  do,  and  they  will  be  like  sheep  running 
wild.  Heretics  will  erect  church  buildings,  but 
these  will  not  be  true  temples  of  God.  Sons  will 
be  against  their  fathers,  and  fathers  against  their 


168 


sons,  and  brother  will  be  against  brother.  The 
coming  of  so  many  people  will  create  great  scar- 
city, so  that  a  measure  of  wheat  will  be  bought 
for  its  weight  in  gold.  "Una  fanega  de  trigo  se 
compraria  a  peso  de  oro."  As  a  consequence, 
much  distress  will  come  upon  the  Indians  and 
Californians.  "I  shall  not  see  this,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "but  there  are  those  alive  that  will  see 
it.  There  will  be  no  Franciscans  here  then,  but 
other  Fathers  will  arrive."  Those  that  testified 
to  hearing  this  sermon,  which  was  repeatedly 
preached  by  the  holy  man,  were  Guadalupe  Pe- 
ralta,  Petra  Soto,  Nazario  Galindo,  Maria  Cas- 
tro, Encarnacion  Soto,  Jose  Solano  Sibriam, 
Paulina  Berreyesa,  Juan  Bojorques,  Maria  Mira- 
montes,  Ramona  Miramontes,  Hedwige  Mira- 
montes,  Francisco  Palomares,  Francisca  Sepul- 
veda,  John  Alexander  Forbes,  according  to  his 
son  J.  Alonzo  Forbes,  and  Chrisostomo  Galindo, 
according  to  his  grand-daughter  Mrs.  Clara  Su- 
nol.  There  are  many  more  who  heard  it  from 
their  parents. 

Josefa  Abrego,  Bernardo  Valencia,  Francisco 
Palomares,  Rita  Garcia,  Maria  del  Pilar  Larios, 
Arciano  Miramontes,  Rudolfo  Miramontes,  Maria 
Castro,  Jose  Solano  Sibriam,  Antonia  Flores,  Fe- 
lix Buelna,  Nazario  Galindo,  and  Encarnacion 
Pacheco,  claimed  to  have  heard  from  other  per- 
sons that  Fr.  Magin  had  predicted  the  discovery 
of  gold  to  the  north  of  Santa  Clara;  but  this 


169 


statement  is  disputed.  Certain  it  is  that  one  day 
not  very  long  before  his  death  in  1830,  a  deputa- 
tion of  pagan  Indians  came  to  the  mission  with 
some  presents  for  the  holy  man.  Fr.  Magin 
looked  through  the  contents  of  the  basket  and 
espied  a  few  gold  nuggets.  Taking  one  up  he 
asked  Mr.  John  Alexander  Forbes,  who  was 
teaching  school  at  the  mission,  "No  es  esto 
oro?"  "Is  not  this  gold?"  Mr.  Forbes  replied, 
"Mucho  parece  oro,  y  creo  que  es  oro."  "It  looks 
very  much  like  gold,  and  I  believe  it  is  gold." 
"Tal  vez,  tal  vez";  said  Fr.  Magin,  "no  lo  per- 
mita  Dios."  "Perhaps,  perhaps;  may  God  not 
permit  it."  Then  he  dropped  the  nugget  into 
the  little  basket,  and  turned  to  the  Indians  with 
these  words :  "Eso  tiene  muy  mala  hechiceria ; 
no  debeis  tocar  esa  cosa  amarilla,  porque  os  cau- 
saria  muchos  males."  "That  has  a  very  bad 
charm ;  you  must  not  touch  that  yellow  thing, 
because  it  will  bring  much  evil  upon  you." 

It  may  be  that  the  servant  of  God  took  into 
consideration  that  ultimately  this  precious  metal 
would  be  discovered,  and  that  he  seized  the  oc- 
casion to  speak  about  it. 

There  is  more  certainty  about  another  prophecy 
concerning  the  city  of  San  Francisco.  Fr.  Ma- 
gin predicted  that  a  large  city  would  rise  on  the 
bay  of  San  Francisco,  great  houses  would  be 
erected,  and  the  people  would  be  wealthy;  but 
when  the  prosperity  of  the  city  would  be  at  its 


170 


height,  then  it  would  be  destroyed  by  earthquake 
and  fire.  How  well  known  this  prophecy  was  at 
Santa  Clara  long  before  the  calamity  transpired 
in  1906,  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  let- 
ter sent  to  the  editor  of  the  Monitor: 

"San  Francisco,  December  4th,  1908. 

"Editor  The  Monitor :  Father  Picardo's  letter 
to  The  Monitor,  touching  the  history  of  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  Catala,  recalls  to  mind  an  incident  I  shall 
venture  to  relate.  While  I  was  a  student  at 
Santa  Clara  College  fifty-one  years  ago,  our 
teacher  of  rhetoric  was  the  Rev.  Father  White. 
I  well  remember  one  bright  afternoon  in  a  reci- 
tation room,  fronting  the  garden,  gay  with  bright 
flowers,  seated  around  the  table  our  class  of  about 
eight  with  Father  White  at  the  head,  his  genial 
face  beaming  on  us,  while  he  related  the  fol- 
lowing: 'Many  years  ago,  a  Father  connected 
with  the  early  missionary  work  of  this  church, 
held  the  deserved  reputation  of  seer  or  prophet. 
His  was  a  most  holy  and  remarkable  character. 

"'He  predicted  events  that  invariably  trans- 
pired, among  which  was  the  day,  the  hour  and 
the  manner  of  his  death. 

"  'Among  his  many  prophecies  was  the  follow- 
ing: At  the  place  now  called  Yerba  Buena  (the 
site  of  San  Francisco)  there  shall  one  day  arise  a 
great  and  populous  city.  This  city  will  be  built 
by  a  race  of  foreigners  and  they  will  possess  the 
land.  This  city  will  flourish  and  its  inhabitants 


JL'AN   CRISOSTOMO   GALINDO,    PR.    MAGfN   CATALA'S 
MAYORDOMO. 


171 


will  become  rich  and  powerful,  and  when  at  the 
height  of  its  prosperity  it  will  perish  by  earth- 
quake and  fire.' 

"It  is  my  recollection  that  Father  White  told 
us  that  the  above  prophecy  was  on  record  in  the 
archives  of  Santa  Clara  College.  Three  days  be- 
fore the  catastrophe  of  April  18,  1906,  I  related 
the  above  prophecy  at  a  dinner. 
"Very  respectfully, 

W.  S.  THORNE,  M.  D." 

According  to  Petra  Pacheco,  Fr.  Magin  pre- 
dicted that  a  cholera  epidemic  would  visit  San 
Jose,  and  that  the  dead  would  be  hauled  out  by 
the  cartloads.  This  was  verified  about  the  year 
1850.  She  was  the  only  surviving  witness  of  the 
prophecy,  but  Gabriel  Cipriano,  who  heard  it  from 
his  father,  and  Felipe  Gonzalez,  who  had  it  from 
others,  affirmed  what  Petra  had  testified. 

It  may  be  presumed  that  the  servant  of  God, 
who  knew  so  well  the  time  of  death  of  other 
people,  was  aware  of  his  own  last  hour;  and  so 
he  was.  "The  day  before  Fr.  Magin  died,"  Mrs. 
Clara  Sunol,  the  grand-daughter  of  Crisostomo 
Galindo,  told  the  writer,  "the  holy  man  called 
Crisostomo  to  him,  after  coming  from  church, 
and  both  sat  on  a  bench  in  the  front  corridor. 
There  he  said  to  Galindo,  'My  time  has  come.  I 
am  going  up  above ;  in  a  day  or  two  I  shall  die. 
Do  you  want  to  go  with  me?'  Galindo  much 


172 


frightened  replied,  'No,  Father.'  Then  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  said,  'Well,  you  may  stay;  but  remember 
what  I  tell  you  now !'  The  Father  then  informed 
him  what  would  happen  to  himself  and  his  fam- 
ily; that  he  would  become  poor  through  the  loss 
of  his  property,  and  that  the  sons  of  his  sons 
would  become  apostates  and  also  give  up  their 
language.  It  all  came  about  as  it  was  predicted. 
While  the  daughters  remained  faithful,  the  grand- 
sons fell  away.  The  prediction  must  have  hurt 
the  good  man  exceedingly,  and  he  therefore  en- 
deavored with  all  his  might  to  confirm  the  faith 
in  his  grandchildren.  Every  night  he  would  as- 
semble them,  recite  the  Rosary  with  them,  and 
then  tell  of  the  life,  wonders,  and  sayings  of  the 
servant  of  God.  Galindo  lived  to  the  age  of  one 
hundred  years.  He  could  neither  read  nor  write, 
but  had  a  remarkable  memory ;  and  it  is  owing 
to  this  that  many  incidents  have  come  down  to 
us  which  throw  much  light  on  what  the  witnesses 
testified,  and  on  many  other  things  of  which  they 
took  no  notice,  but  which  are  of  more  moment 
than  miracles. 

The  night  before  he  passed  away,  Fr.  Magin 
retained  only  two  pious  Indian  attendants,  Ro- 
berto and  Egidio,  besides  an  old  Spaniard  by  the 
name  of  Jaime  Monje,  and  asked  them  to  stay 
with  him,  as  he  should  die  that  night.  "Watch 
the  sky,"  he  said,  "and  when  you  see  the  morn- 
ing star  appear  let  me  know."  What  happened 


173 


through  the  night,  the  stolid  Indians  have  not 
revealed,  and  probably  did  not  notice.  Fr.  Ma- 
gin,  ever  a  man  of  few  words,  seems  to  have  said 
nothing  to  men,  but  to  have  communed  the  more 
with  his  God.  Finally  the  attendants  came  into 
his  room,  and  said,  "Father,  the  morning  star 
has  appeared."  "Then  please  call  Father  Jose 
to  come  and  pray  over  me,"  he  replied.  These 
were  the  last  words  recorded  of  him.  Fr.  Viader 
at  once  hastened  to  his  dying  companion  and 
said  the  prescribed  prayers.  Meanwhile  the  serv- 
ant of  God  quietly  returned  his  soul  to  his  Crea- 
tor. It  was  a  beautiful  death,  just  such  a  one  as 
the  true  child  of  God,  unhampered  by  family  or 
other  ties,  would  wish  for  himself. 

VISIONS. 

"/  will  come  to  visions  and  revelations  of  the 
Lord."  (II  Cor.  xii,  1.) 

We  have  already  seen  that  Fr.  Magin  mani- 
fested an  extraordinary  devotion  for  the  Cruci- 
fied Redeemer.  He  seems  to  have  brought  all 
his  anxieties  to  the  foot  of  the  great  Crucifix. 
It  was  the  common  opinion  of  the  white  people 
as  well  as  of  the  Indians  that  the  servant  of  God 
received  unusual  favors  while  lost  in  sympathetic 
contemplation  of  our  Lord's  Sufferings  on  the 
Cross,  and  that  intimate  dialogue  with  Christ 
took  place  when  the  holy  man  was  alone  before 


174 


the  altar  of  the  Crucifix.  At  all  events,  he  passed 
hours  at  a  time  there  in  meditation  and  prayer. 
A  great  part  of  the  night,  too,  sometimes  the 
whole  night  he  thus  passed  on  his  knees.  It  was 
the  firm  opinion  of  the  people  that  his  sympathy 
for  the  Crucified  Lord  raised  the  holy  man  above 
the  earth,  and  that  both  were  in  fond  embrace  of 
each  other.  Rev.  Nicholas  Congiato,  S.  J.,  who 
was  stationed  at  Santa  Clara  in  1851-1856,  and 
therefore  had  exceptional  opportunities  for  in- 
vestigation, declared  that  from  what  he  had 
learned  he  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  such 
statements.  In  the  Process  of  1884  six  witnesses 
testified  to  the  report  regarding  visions  before 
the  Crucifix. 

Thus  Petra  (Pacheco)  Soto  related  that  one 
day,  so  persons  of  belief  had  stated,  when  Fr. 
Viader  could  not  find  his  venerable  companion, 
he  was  told  that  the  Father  as  usual  was  in 
church  before  the  Crucifix.  A  messenger  going 
to  the  church  discovered  Fr.  Magin  raised  up 
high  in  the  air  on  a  level  with  the  Cross.  The 
Savior  had  unfastened  His  hands  and  was  resting 
them  on  the  shoulders  of  the  holy  man.  The 
servant  informed  Fr.  Viader,  who  on  going  to 
the  church  saw  nothing  more  than  that  a  bright 
light  surrounded  the  kneeling  Fr.  Magin.  This 
testimony  was  corroborated  by  Rufino  Saiz, 
Berta  Guadalupe,  Antonia  Flores,  and  Encarna- 
cion  Soto. 


175 


Ignacio  Alviso  stated  that  once,  when  he  went 
to  call  Fr.  Magin  for  supper,  he  saw  the  holy 
man  raised  in  the  air  embracing  the  Crucified 
Lord,  and  that  when  later  the  servant  of  God 
noticed  that  he  had  been  observed,  he  forbade 
Alviso  to  communicate  to  any  one  what  he  had 
seen. 

The  Indian  Egidio,  who  also  remained  with  the 
Father  in  his  last  hours,  claimed  to  have  seen 
the  Crucified  Savior  place  His  unfastened  hands 
upon  Fr.  Magin. 

"There  was  an  Indian  named  Gorgonio,  who 
was  very  pious  and  a  faithful  servant  of  the  holy 
man,"  Felix  Buelna  relates.  "After  Fr.  Magin's 
death  we  used  to  ask  him  about  the  deceased  mis- 
sionary. He  would  tell  us  how  the  holy  man 
would  pass  much  time,  day  and  night,  in  prayer, 
and  that  once  when  he  had  to  call  the  Father  he 
found  him  in  church.  He  saw  him  on  his  knees 
in  the  air  on  a  level  with  the  base  of  the  Cross. 
He  then  saw  the  Savior  release  His  hands  from 
the  nails  and  embrace  the  Father.  We  young 
people  would  not  believe  this,  and  therefore  de- 
nied that  he  had  seen  anything.  He  would  then 
reply,  'I  am  a  Christian,  and  God  hears  me.  I 
tell  the  truth.  I  saw  it  with  mine  own  eyes.'  We 
asked  him  further,  'How  did  he  get  up  there?' 
He  would  say,  'I  do  not  know ;  he  had  no  chair 
nor  anything  else.'  We  asked  him  at  different 
times  to  see  whether  he  would  vary  or  change 


176 

the  story;  but  Gorgonio  always  repeated  the 
same  words.  Various  other  persons  heard  this 
from  him  on  other  occasions." 

Rita  Garcia  told  a  singular  incident  in  this 
connection.  "My  mother,"  she  stated  before  the 
Ecclesiastical  Court,  "used  to  relate  that  once  a 
boy  came  running  to  my  grandmother  exclaim- 
ing, 'Look,  grandmother,  the  Father  is  kneeling 
in  the  air,  and  he  does  not  fall.'  The  grand- 
mother replied,  'Don't  go  about  telling  lies ;  take 
care !  How  can  that  be  ?'  The  boy,  seeing  that 
she  did  not  believe  him,  made  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  with  the  finger  and  then  kissed  it,  thus 
indicating  that  he  swore  he  was  telling  the  truth." 

We  have  already  stated  Jose  Alviso's  remark- 
able experience  in  this  connection  on  page  77. 

BICOLATION. 

Bilocation  is  a  phenomenon  which  occurs  in 
the  lives  of  very  few  saints,  such  as  St.  Anthony 
of  Padua,  St.  Alphonsus,  and  the  Venerable 
Maria  de  Agreda.  It  implies  that  the  person  at 
one  and  the  same  time  is  seen  to  act  in  two  sep- 
arate places.  The  Indians  of  Mission  Santa 
Clara  in  time  became  so  convinced  that  Fr.  Ma- 
gin  could  make  himself  visible  in  two  places  that 
they  were  very  careful  not  to  do  anything  seri- 
ously subversive  of  order  lest  they  should  incur 
the  displeasure  of  the  holy  man.  Among  the 


177 


white  people  of  the  surrounding  country  it  was 
common  talk  that  he  made  his  presence  felt  in 
that  manner. 

Romualda  Vasquez  in  1884,  then  ninety-eight 
years  of  age,  testified  that  the  Indians  of  a  cer- 
tain rancheria  on  one  occasion  were  practising 
witchcraft.  All  at  once  Fr.  Magin  appeared 
among  the  wicked  men,  who  astounded  at  his 
presence  scattered  in  every  direction.  Yet  it  was 
shown  that  he  had  not  left  the  mission  at  all. 

Josefa  Berreyesa,  born  in  Santa  Clara  Valley  at 
the  beginning  of  the  century,  relates  that  on  a 
certain  occasion  her  husband,  who  was  one  of 
the  mission  guards,  accompanied  Fr.  Magin  on 
a  sick-call.  Staff  in  hand  the  holy  man  walked 
a  great  ways,  until  he  felt  so  exhausted  under 
the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  that  he  had  to 
take  refuge  in  the  shade  of  a  tree.  As  usual  he 
gave  himself  to  silent  meditation  and  prayer.  The 
house  of  the  sick  person  was  still  far  away.  The 
soldier  waited  for  some  time,  but  did  not  dare 
to  disturb  the  devotion  of  the  Father.  Suddenly 
the  servant  of  God  came  to  himself  and  told  his 
companion  that  they  need  not  go  any  farther,  as 
the  sick  person  had  been  attended  to.  The  mys- 
tified guard  accompanied  the  holy  missionary 
back  to  Santa  Clara,  and  later  on  learned  that 
Fr.  Magin  had  indeed  administered  the  Sacra- 
ments to  the  person,  though  he  had  not  left  the 
soldier's  side.  The  fact  caused  a  great  sensa- 


178 


tion  among  the  people  and  naturally  increased 
their  veneration  for  the  servant  of  God. 

A  soldier  by  the  name  of  Juan  Gonzales,  ac- 
cording to  Pilar  Ortega,  always  treated  his  wife 
most  cruelly.  Once,  while  journeying  with  her 
from  Mission  Dolores  to  Santa  Clara,  he  beat  her 
so  badly  that  she  fell  senseless  by  the  roadside. 
The  brute  continued  on  his  way  and  left  her 
where  she  lay.  On  recovering,  the  poor  woman 
called  upon  Fr.  Magin  who  was  at  Santa  Clara. 
Almost  immediately  he  stood  at  her  side,  heard 
her  confession,  consoled  and  cured  her,  and  dis- 
appeared. Meanwhile  the  worthless  husband 
reached  Santa  Clara.  Fr.  Magin  asked  him 
where  he  had  left  his  wife.  Gonzalez  answered 
that  she  had  remained  at  Mission  Dolores.  "Thou 
tellest  a  lie,"  the  holy  man  said,  and  then  repri- 
manded him  severely.  After  a  while  some  In- 
dians led  the  woman  to  the  mission.  Though 
she  was  restored,  she  still  bore  the  scars  of  the 
wounds  on  her  face  and  body  which  she  had 
received  from  her  brutal  husband. 

Gabriel  Cipriano  tells  this  little  story  of  his 
brother-in-law,  Jose  Hernandez.  When  Jose  was 
a  boy  his  father  sent  him  to  buy  some  fruit  from 
Fr.  Magin.  The  good  Father  was  just  then  sit- 
ting with  Fr.  Viader  on  the  bench  in  the  front 
corridor.  When  he  heard  Jose's  petition  he  said, 
"Get  the  fruit  thyself  and  take  them  to  thy 
father,  but  do  not  take  any  of  the  grapes,  be- 


179 


cause  I  need  them  for  altar  wine."  While  the 
boy  was  picking  the  fruit,  the  temptation  to  steal 
came  at  sight  of  the  nice  bunches  of  grapes.  He 
resolved  to  cut  some  and  conceal  them  in  the 
basket.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  cut  a  bunch  off, 
his  eye  fell  upon  the  figure  of  Fr.  Magin  with  a 
book  in  his  hands  sitting  near  by  under  a  tree. 
Bewildered  and  frightened  he  let  the  grapes 
alone,  filled  his  basket  with  apples  and  then 
walked  back  the  same  way.  What  was  his  sur- 
prise, when  on  returning  to  the  front  he  saw  both 
Fathers  sitting  together  as  before.  The  con- 
clusion was  that  Fr.  Magin  must  have  been  in 
both  places  at  the  same  time. 

Beata  Guadalupe  Gutierrez  heard  from  Apo- 
lonia  (Perez)  Pinto  the  following  facts  which 
were  confirmed  by  Romualda  Vasquez  and 
others.  The  husband  of  Apolonia  would  ill-treat 
his  wife  fearfully,  though  she  had  the  reputation 
of  being  an  excellent  woman.  Once  when  he  had 
again  beaten  her,  Fr.  Magin  suddenly  appeared 
and  consoling  her  said,  "Be  of  good  cheer;  he 
will  not  beat  you  that  way  again."  She  prob- 
ably told  her  husband  of  the  holy  man's  visit, 
for  he  went  to  the  mission  and  inquired  of  the 
servants  whether  Fr.  Magin  had  left  the  mission, 
as  it  was  known  that,  owing  to  his  sore  feet,  he 
could  not  walk  far.  The  man  learned  that  the 
Father  had  not  left  the  mission.  Suspecting  that 
his  wife  had  perhaps  gone  to  Santa  Clara,  the 


ISO 


brute  tied  her  up  in  her  room.  Again  the  holy 
man  appeared  and  offered  to  loosen  the  bonds. 
"No,  no,"  she  cried,  "my  husband  will  kill  me." 
"No,"  he  replied,  "he  will  not  kill  you.  Tell  him 
I  set  you  free."  After  the  death  of  the  servant 
of  God,  which  occurred  not  long  after,  the  hus- 
band of  Apolonia  resumed  his  brutality  towards 
his  wife,  at  a  time  too  when  she  was  with  child. 
Fr.  Magin  then  appeared  to  him,  and  threaten- 
ingly s'aid,  "Do  not  beat  your  wife ;  be  careful 
or  you  shall  be  damned."  He  ceased  the  ill-treat- 
ment after  that,  but  fell  sick  and  died. 

Several  other  cases  of  apparent  bilocation  were 
related  by  others ;  but  as  there  seems  to  be  some 
confusion  in  the  names,  it  is  better  to  omit 
them.  One  instance  seems  to  be  identical  with 
the  preceding  narrative,  except  that  the  name  in 
the  case  of  the  husband  is  different.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  it  \vas  the  common  belief  that  Fr.  Magin 
was  not  only  a  prophet  and  wonderworker,  but 
that  to  the  consternation  of  the  wicked  and  the 
consolation  of  the  just,  he  could  appear  in  two 
places  at  the  same  time. 


181 


II.    MIRACLES  AFTER  HIS   DEATH. 

"Know  ye  also  that  the  Lord  hath  made  his  holy 
one  wonderful."  (Psalm  iv,  4.) 

Fr.  Magin's  power  to  aid  his  clients  did  not 
cease  with  his  death,  for  those  that  invoked  him 
experienced  the  benefit  of  his  intercession  many 
years  after,  and  to  this  day  there  are  those  that 
find  their  confidence  rewarded.  As  Francisca 
Sepulveda  expressed  herself  at  the  investigation, 
"He  gave  them  everything  they  asked."  For  in- 
stance, "When  we  lost  anything,"  she  continued, 
"and  the  thing  was  necessary  for  us,  we  simply 
prayed  'Soul  of  Fr.  Magin  assist  me,'  and  we 
would  always  recover  it.  The  relics  of  the  serv- 
ant of  God  would  be  applied  in  desperate  cases 
of  sickness  or  in  perils  of  life,  and  always  with 
good  results." 

It  is  especially  with  regard  to  things  lost  that 
the  faithful  among  the  Californians  appealed  to 
Fr.  Magin,  and  the  instances  in  which  they  re- 
covered what  was  despaired  of  are  so  many  that 
we  can  mention  only  a  few.  Felix  Buelna  relates 
that  at  one  time  he  lost  two  animals.  His  wife 
promised  to  recite  a  Rosary  in  honor  of  Fr.  Ma- 
gin, and  soon  they  were  recovered.  One  was 
found  in  a  hole  whence  it  could  not  extricate  it- 
self, the  other  was  discovered  tied  up  in  the 
woods  where  no  one  had  thought  of  searching 
for  it. 


182 

Nazario  Galindo  told  of  a  case  where  Luisa 
Sepulveda  lost  a  pair  of  oxen.  Search  was  made 
everywhere  in  vain.  Luisa  then  invoked  the  soul 
of  Fr.  Magin,  and  they  were  speedily  recovered. 
At  another  time  her  son's  horse  disappeared.  For 
five  days  they  hunted  in  vain  for  any  trace  of  the 
animal.  Then  Luisa  called  upon  Fr.  Magin,  and 
the  lost  horse  was  restored  to  them. 

Francisco  Raymundo  Soto  affirmed  that  when- 
ever he  lost  anything  he  would  appeal  to  Fr.  Ma- 
gin, promise  a  Rosary,  or  a  holy  Mass  in  his 
honor,  and  always  recover  the  article.  Apolina- 
rio  Lorenzana  and  Josefa  Flores,  the  latter 
eighty  years  old,  said  they  had  the  same  expe- 
rience. 

Maria  Bernal  Benitez  reported  that  "one  night 
some  Indians  drove  away  our  horses.  'God  help 
me/  my  mother  exclaimed  weeping,  for  the 
horses  were  our  whole  property.  My  mother 
prayed  to  Fr.  Magin,  and  put  aside  two  dollars 
to  have  holy  Masses  offered  up  in  honor  of  the 
soul  of  Fr.  Magin.  On  the  morning  of  the  third 
day  the  horses  all  came  back  by  themselves  to 
the  corral,  whence  the  Indians  had  driven  them. 
We  all  thought  it  was  miraculous.  Rosa  Hoff- 
man and  Petra  Pacheco  confirmed  this  story. 

"About  two  months  ago,"  said  Rosa  Hoffman 
in  1884,  "Mariquita  Oliviera  was  so  ill  that  I 
thought  she  would  not  live  through  the  night. 
She  was  suffering  from  gangrene  of  the  leg.  I 


183 


advised  her  to  have  recourse  to  Fr.  Magin  who 
would  surely  help  her.  In  order  to  afford  her 
some  relief,  I  applied  a  simple  remedy  which  did 
not  operate  speedily.  Mariquita,  however,  ap- 
pealed to  Fr.  Magin  and  he  helped  her,  for  she 
is  now  in  good  health."  When  questioned  by 
one  of  the  examiners  whether  she  was  sure  that 
Mariquita  had  made  a  promise  to  Fr.  Magin, 
Rosa  replied,  "Yes,  because  I  told  her  to  invoke 
him,  and  I  heard  the  promise.  She  promised 
to  recite  some  Rosaries.  I  do  not  know  how 
many."  Again  questioned  whether  there  was  any 
other  circumstance  connected  with  Mariquita's 
illness  which  made  Rosa  think  that  she  would 
not  live  till  morning,"  Rosa  answered,  "Yes,  she 
suffered  from  a  flow  of  blood.  I  did  not  believe 
that  she  could  live  through  the  night,  and  there- 
fore asked  a  little  girl  to  stay  with  me.  We  both 
wept,  because  we  believed  the  woman  would  die." 
To  the  question  whether  a  doctor  had  been  called, 
Rosa  replied,  "Mariquita  did  not  want  a  doctor. 
She  was  herself  experienced  in  medicine.  She 
used  to  attend  and  cure  other  sick  people." 

Vincencio  Suarez  made  this  statement:  "At 
one  time  a  great  fire  broke  out  in  a  field  about  a 
league  from  San  Jose  and  consumed  all  the 
standing  grain.  The  people  were  terrified.  All 
ran  together,  but  could  do  nothing  to  stop  the 
spread  of  the  fire.  In  this  distress  my  mother- 
in-law,  Luisa  Botiller,  brought  out  the  crucifix 


184 


which  Fr.  Magin  used  to  wear  on  his  breast,  and 
which  they  had  taken  away  before  burial.  She 
planted  the  crucifix  in  the  course  of  the  raging 
element,  and  exclaimed,  "Fr.  Magin,  assist  us !" 
Immediately  the  fire  ceased  to  approach  and  died 
out.  Questioned  by  the  Promoter  of  Faith  as  to 
the  direction  which  the  wind  was  taking,  Vin- 
cencio  said,  "The  wind  was  blowing  towards  the 
south  where  there  was  a  grainfield."  Again 
questioned,  "Was  there  any  stream  between  the 
crucifix  and  the  fire?"  Vincencio  replied,  "No, 
there  was  only  a  narrow  footpath,  about  two 
palms  wide.  In  this  path  Luisa  had  planted  the 
crucifix.  Everything  was  dry  on  both  sides.  I 
heard  this  not  only  from  my  mother-in-law,  but 
also  from  Augustin  Narvaez,  Francisco  Pacheco, 
Andres  Martinez,  and  many  others  who  went  out 
to  see  the  fire.  All  found  the  facts  as  I  have  re- 
lated them."  Nazario  Galindo  and  others  cor- 
roborated the  story  of  Suarez. 

"Three  years  ago,"  (i.  e.  1881)  said  Juana 
Lightstone,  "a  woman  who  owed  my  mother  a 
sum  of  money,  died.  Her  sons  refused  to  pay 
the  debt.  My  mother  had  great  confidence  in  Fr. 
Magin.  She  promised  him  to  have  a  novena  of 
holy  Masses  offered  up  if  the  matter  were  settled 
out  of  court  to  her  satisfaction.  About  a  month 
later  the  heirs  of  the  deceased  woman  offered  to 
come  to  terms  with  my  mother.  They  were  will- 
ing to  accept  $500  and  cede  the  ownership  of  the 


185 


land  in  question  to  my  mother.  This  is  just  what 
she  had  proposed,  and  what  they  had  refused  for 
three  years."  Rafaela  Soto  confirmed  the  state- 
ment of  Juana. 

"My  husband,"  Maria  Bernal  related,  "bought 
a  piece  of  land  from  a  young  man.  The  brother 
of  the  young  man  was  dissatisfied  with  the  price 
received,  and  started  a  lawsuit  against  my  hus- 
band. I  promised  Fr.  Magin  to  have  a  holy 
Mass  offered  up  if  the  case  were  decided  in  our 
favor.  About  two  months  ago  it  was  so  decided." 

Maria  (Majors)  Castro  told  the  Commission 
the  following  incident :  "I  was  once  bathing  in  the 
sea  at  Santa  Cruz.  I  was  then  as  now  rather 
fleshy,  and  could  not  help  myself  very  well,  and 
hardly  know  how  to  swim.  Suddenly  a  wave 
carried  me  out  into  the  deep.  I  felt  myself  sink- 
ing. In  terror  I  cried  out,  'Soul  of  Fr.  Magin 
help  me !'  and  found  myself  on  the  shore  without 
knowing  how  it  happened." 

There  are  numerous  stories  on  record  of  des- 
perate cases  of  women  in  labor  where  there  was 
little  or  no  hope  of  survival.  For  obvious  rea- 
sons they  cannot  be  told  here  in  detail,  though 
the  particulars  appear  in  the  sworn  evidence.  In 
many  instances  a  relic  of  Fr.  Magin  was  applied, 
such  as  a  piece  of  his  habit,  the  crucifix  which 
he  wore  on  his  breast,  a  sandal,  or  any  other  ar- 
ticle that  had  belonged  to  the  servant  of  God. 
Where  such  things  were  not  available  the  per- 


186 


sons  concerned  would  promise  to  recite  one 
Rosary  or  more  in  honor  of  Fr.  Magin,  or  to 
visit  Santa  Clara  church  on  foot  and  receive  the 
Sacraments,  or  to  have  a  holy  Mass  offered  up. 
It  will  suffice  to  quote  the  names  of  the  principal 
witnesses  who  testified  for  themselves  or  as  eye- 
witness for  others.  They  are  Petra  (Pacheco) 
Soto,  Francisca  Sepulveda,  Encarnacion  (Pa- 
checo) Soto,  Felix  Buelna,  Juana  (Soto)  Light- 
stone,  Antonia  Flores,  Maria  (Duarte)  Valencia, 
Josefa  Sepulveda,  Ignacio  Bernal,  Maria  Bernal. 
All  these  attributed  happy  delivery  and  survival 
to  the  miraculous  intervention  of  Fr.  Magin. 

"I  have  been  midwife  for  forty  years,"  Encar- 
nacion (Pacheco)  Soto  testified  at  the  age  of 
eighty-five,  "and  I  have  had  many  apparently 
hopeless  cases.  When  the  outcome  looked  des- 
perate, I  would  apply  a  relic  of  Fr.  Magin.  I 
have  never  lost  a  mother  or  child." 

Maria  del  Pilar  Larios  of  San  Juan  Bautista, 
who  had  exercised  the  same  profession  during 
forty  years,  related  to  Father  Benedict  Picardo  in 
the  presence  of  Fr.  Valentine  Closa,  and  later  be- 
fore the  Court,  that  in  all  serious  cases  she  would 
invoke  the  soul  of  Fr.  Magin,  and  never  lost  a 
case. 

Anna  Maria  Sepulveda  said  on  the  same  occa- 
sion that  she  had  carried  on  the  profession  of 
midwife  for  thirty  years.  In  the  many  perilous 
cases  that  occurred  she  would  appeal  to  Fr.  Ma- 


187 


gin,  apply  a  relic  of  his,  and  never  was  a  mother 
or  infant  lost. 

Clara  Sunol,  now  of  East  Oakland,  herself  the 
mother  of  eighteen  children,  for  many  years  lent 
her  assistance  in  such  circumstances.  When 
there  seemed  to  be  no  hope,  she  would  invoke 
Fr.  Magin,  and  in  no  instance  was  the  result  un- 
happy. 

"When  I  was  twenty-five  years  old,"  Rafaela 
Pacheco  told  the  examiners,  "a  great  tumor  de- 
veloped on  one  of  my  breasts.  I  feared  greatly 
that  I  should  have  to  undergo  a  painful  opera- 
tion. I  recommended  myself  to  Fr.  Magin  and 
promised  a  cord  of  all  colors  and  two  pieces  of 
silk  for  the  great  Crucifix  at  Santa  Clara.  Soon 
the  tumor  opened  from  self  and  the  pus  flowed. 
On  the  third  day  I  was  cured,  and  in  gratitude 
hastened  to  comply  with  my  promise. 

"When  at  the  age  of  thirty  years  I  found  my- 
self a  widow,"  Rafaela  continued.  "I  suffered 
such  terrible  headaches  that  I  could  not  bear  the 
light.  I  had  borne  this  for  more  than  a  month, 
when  I  remembered  that  my  mother  possessed 
a  piece  of  Fr.  Magin's  habit.  I  applied  it  to  my 
head,  promising  at  the  same  time  that  if  I  was 
relieved  I  would  walk  to  holy  Mass  at  Santa 
Clara  the  following  Sunday  and  receive  the  Sac- 
raments. No  sooner  had  I  put  the  little  piece  of 
cloth  to  my  head  than  all  pain  was  taken  away. 


188 


On  the  next  Sunday  I  went  to  fulfill  my  promise 
in  good  health." 

Petra  (Pecheco)  Soto  gave  this  evidence: 
"Once  I  suffered  a  great  pain  in  the  head.  It 
was  so  intense  that  I  had  to  take  to  bed  for  a 
week.  Then  I  thought  of  applying  a  piece  of 
Fr.  Magin's  habit.  The  pain  left  me  at  once,  and 
I  have  never  since  been  troubled  with  a  similar 
headache.  I  kept  the  relic  for  three  years  and 
kissed  it  frequently.  By  its  application  my  daugh- 
ter was  relieved  of  an  intense  pain  in  the  side. 
She  allowed  another  person  to  have  the  relic  in 
some  trouble,  but  it  was  never  returned.  I 
grieved  much  for  its  loss." 

Juan  Bojorques  declared,  "We  all  believe  that 
Fr.  Magin  was  a  very  holy  man.  We  invoke 
him  whenever  anything  is  lost,  or  when  we  suf- 
fer in  the  body.  I  always  pray  to  him  and  am 
always  relieved.  In  such  cases  I  light  a  candle 
and  recite  the  promised  devotions." 

Juana  Lightstone  testified,  "My  mother  pre- 
serves a  piece  of  Fr.  Magin's  habit.  She  prizes 
it  highly,  and  whenever  I  have  a  bad  headache, 
I  apply  the  relic  and  the  pain  passes  away." 

At  the  examination  Nicolas  Berreyesa  stated 
that  in  1852  he  was  afflicted  with  such  a  violent 
headache  that  he  could  not  travel.  He  placed  a 
piece  of  Fr.  Magin's  habit  against  the  head,  and 
the  affliction  ceased.  He  was  never  again  tor- 
tured in  like  manner. 


189 


Rafaela  Soto  made  this  statement:  "Once  I 
was  very  ill,  and  lay  in  bed  for  two  months.  I 
thought  I  should  never  rise  again.  Then  I  prom- 
ised Fr.  Magin  that  I  would  make  the  Stations 
of  the  Cross  a  whole  day,  if  I  recovered.  I 
prayed  him  to  add  this  favor  to  the  many  others 
bestowed  upon  me.  Scarcely  had  I  made  the 
promise  and  uttered  the  petition  when  I  felt  my- 
self well,  just  as  I  am  now. 

"It  is  now  (1884)  less  than  two  years  ago 
when  I  received  another  favor  through  Fr.  Ma- 
gin.  One  of  my  animals  in  falling  was  hurt  so 
badly  that  it  seemed  doomed  to  death.  I  offered 
a  Rosary  in  honor  of  Fr.  Magin.  The  next  day 
the  animal  rose  and  was  well." 

Anna  Sepulveda  said  she  cured  consumptives 
whom  the  doctors  had  abandoned  simply  by 
applying  a  sandal  of  Fr.  Magin  after  praying 
to  him.  She  frequently  used  this  relic  in  the 
cure  of  the  sick. 

Josef  a  (Sepulveda)  Flores,  then  eighty  years 
old,  related  that  at  one  time  a  man  had  wan- 
tonly shot  an  ox  with  a  pistol.  The  poor  ani- 
mal lay  on  the  same  spot  for  five  days  without 
taking  anything.  I  promised  Fr.  Magin  a 
novena  of  Rosaries  if  the  poor  creature  recov- 
ered. When  I  had  finished  the  first  Rosary,  the 
ox  rose  and  walked  away  a  great  distance. 
After  fifteen  days  he  was  found  in  sound 
health. 


190 


"My  husband,"  said  Maria  Bernal,  "had  a 
mare  which  fell  very  sick.  He  valued  the 
horse  highly.  When  he  thought  that  it  would 
die,  he  promised  a  Holy  Mass  in  honor  of  Fr. 
Magin.  The  mare  recovered." 

We  omit  many  other  seemingly  wonderful 
stories,  which,  at  least,  demonstrate  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people  in  the  intercession  of  the 
servant  of  God,  and  close  the  narrative  with  the 
recital  of  an  extraordinary  favor  attributed  to  the 
intervention  of  Fr.  Magin. 

"My  father  and  mother,"  said  Rita  Garcia  be- 
fore the  Commission,  "daily  recited  an  Our 
Father  in  honor  of  Fr.  Magin.  I  remember 
well  what  I  am  going  to  tell,  because  I  was 
present  at  what  happened.  My  father  was  a 
soldier,  and  as  such,  when  his  turn  came,  had 
to  carry  the  mail  between  Mission  Soledad  and 
Monterey.  One  day  as  he  was  ready  to  set  out 
on  horseback  from  our  home  with  the  package 
of  letters,  he  thought  of  taking  some  money 
along.  He  asked  my  mother  to  bring  it  out  to 
him.  She  replied,  'Come  and  take  as  much  as 
you  want.'  He  dismounted.  As  the  horse  was 
gentle,  he  left  the  reins  upon  the  pommel  of  the 
saddle  without  tying  the  animal.  The  package 
of  letters  was  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  cloth  about 
one  foot  long.  Instead  of  keeping  it  in  his 
hands,  as  it  was  but  a  few  moments  to  go  into 
the  house  and  return,  he  left  the  little  bundle 


191 


upon  the  saddle  without  securing  it  in  any  way. 
Then  he  went  into  the  house  for  the  money. 

"When  he  came  out,  to  his  consternation  the 
horse  had  disappeared  and  the  letters  with  it. 
We  went  out  with  a  lantern,  for  it  was  still  dark, 
and  looked  everywhere,  but  the  horse  could  not 
be  found.  My  father  asked  a  friend,  Simon 
Cota,  to  look  for  the  horse  everywhere,  without 
telling  him  about  the  letters.  Then  he  went  away 
to  hide  himself,  for  if  the  package  with  the  mail 
were  lost  he  would  surely  be  shot. 

"The  friend  returned  at  noon  the  same  day, 
and  said  that  he  had  not  discovered  any  trace 
of  the  horse.  Meanwhile  my  mother  and  we 
children  were  weeping,  for  the  death  of  my 
father  was  certain  if  the  mail  was  lost  and  he 
were  caught.  My  mother  at  last  promised  to 
have  a  holy  Mass  celebrated,  and  to  receive  the 
Sacraments  if  the  horse  and  letters  were  recov- 
ered. This  promise  my  mother  made  to  the  soul 
of  Fr.  Magin. 

"During  all  this  time  my  father  in  despair 
wandered  off  into  the  sierra  of  Soledad,  where 
bears  roved  about  at  that  period ;  for  he  said  to 
himself  it  is  better  to  die  there  than  to  be 
executed  in  disgrace  and  in  the  presence  of  my 
family.  At  last,  tired  out,  he  sat  down  about 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  top  of  the  mountain 
range  near  a  high  rock.  It  was  late  in  the  night 
and  very  dark.  All  at  once  he  heard  a  slight 


192 


noise  coming  from  the  other  side  of  the  rocky 
steep.  It  sounded  as  though  a  horse  were 
chewing  his  bit.  Not  knowing  what  it  was,  he 
cautiously  moved  around  to  the  other  side.  To 
his  great  joy  he  discovered  the  horse  there,  just 
as  he  had  left  it  at  the  door  of  his  own  house. 
The  reins  were  on  the  pommel  and  the  package, 
most  wonderful  of  all.  lay  on  the  saddle  where 
he  had  placed  it.  'Blessed  be  God!'  my  father 
exclaimed.  'He  has  at  last  listened  to  a  poor 
wretch !  Who  would  think  of  finding  the  horse 
in  this  place  and  with  the  package  loose  upon  his 
back.'  Declaring  it  was  a  miracle,  he  hastened 
homeward.  When  he  arrived,  my  mother  ex- 
plained that  this  was  a  miracle  due  to  Fr. 
Magin,  because  she  had  called  upon  him  in  their 
distress  and  had  made  the  promise  of  a  holy 
Communion  and  holy  Mass.  My  father  has- 
tened to  forward  the  mail,  and  my  mother  ful- 
filled her  promise." 

When  questioned  by  the  examiners  as  to  the 
length  of  time  that  her  father  had  been  absent, 
Rita  replied,  "He  left  early  in  the  morning 
when  it  was  still  dark.  We  bid  him  farewell 
and  said,  'Fly,  and  God  help  thee.'  My  father 
fled  and  went  afoot  through  the  woods  of  the 
sierra  until  midnight,  when  he,  tired  from  wan- 
dering through  the  brush  and  over  the  rocks, 
sat  down  and  then  heard  the  horse  chewing  the 
bit.  He  came  down  from  the  mountain  with 


193 


the  horse  with  much  difficulty.  That  day  he  con- 
cealed himself  until  night,  lest  any  one  found 
him  as  mail  carrier  off  the  road.  When  it  was 
dark,  he  returned  home  and  arrived  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning." 

To  the  question,  "Did  the  horse  have  any  cov- 
ering or  anything  else  which  might  have  held 
the  package  fast?"  she  replied,  "No,  sir,  noth- 
ing but  the  saddle.  He  who  carries  the  mail 
bears  it  tied  around  his  body  like  a  bandage. 
My  father  put  it  upon  the  saddle  and  intended 
to  tie  it  around  himself  as  soon  as  he  was 
mounted  on  the  animal." 

U.  I.  O.  G.  D. 


195 

APPENDIX. 


A. 

ST.    MAGIN,   MARTYR. 
(To  Page  13.) 

This  saint  is  not  known  to  the  English-speaking 
people,  though  in  his  own  country  he  is  very  much 
venerated.  A  short  sketch  may  therefore  be  wel- 
come. There  is  nothing  on  record  concerning  his 
antecedents.  We  only  know  this  much  that,  while 
Maximian  ruled  the  western  part  of  the  Roman 
empire  towards  the  close  of  the  third  century,  three 
hermits  appeared  in  the  mountains  of  Brufagaiia, 
Catalonia,  Fr.  Catala's  native  country.  One  of  these 
servants  of  Christ  was  the  Blessed  Magin,  who  took 
up  his  abode  in  a  cave  near  Rocamora.  There  he 
employed  his  time  in  works  of  penance,  in  prayer, 
and  in  contemplating  the  Divine  Perfections. 

Zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls  for  whom  the 
Savior  shed  His  Blood  urged  the  holy  hermit  to 
give  up  his  beloved  solitude  in  order  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  surrounding  Gentiles.  With  the  help 
of  God  he  succeeded  in  convincing  the  pagans  of 
the  folly  of  idol  worship  and  of  the  reasonableness, 
truth,  and  beauty  of  the  Christian  Faith. 

When  the  pagan  governor  of  Tarragona  heard  of 
Magin's  activity  in  behalf  of  Christ,  he  had  the 
servant  of  God  arrested  for  treason,  because  the 
preaching  of  the  Christian  doctrine  was  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  the  Roman  emperors.  No  sooner  had 
Magin  been  brought  before  the  pagan  tribunal  than 
the  governor  addressed  him  in  terms  of  severity. 
"Art  thou  the  sacrilegious  man,"  said  he,  "who 
preaches  Jesus,  the  Nazarene,  and  despises  the  nil- 


196 


ers  of  the  world?  Thou  shalt  cease  perverting  the 
people,  and  thou  wilt  offer  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  or 
thou  shalt  suffer  the  keenest  torments." 

Threats,  such  as  these,  could  not  frighten  the  holy 
man.  On  the  contrary,  he  at  once  showed  that  the 
religion  which  he  taught  the  people  is  true,  and  that 
it  was  wicked  and  against  reason  to  worship  imag- 
inary deities  who  were  but  demons  in  disguise.  The 
fearless  speech  enraged  the  judge.  He  commanded 
Magin  to  be  loaded  with  chains  and  cast  into  a 
dungeon  in  order  to  break  his  resistance  by  means 
of  hunger. 

Whilst  the  heroic  confessor  of  Christ  suffered  in 
prison,  it  pleased  Almighty  God  to  make  known 
the  virtues  of  His  faithful  servant.  He  allowed  a 
demon  to  take  possession  of  the  governor's  daugh- 
ter. The  evil  spirit  tormented  the  girl  frightfully. 
Her  father  appealed  for  help  to  the  priests  of  the 
idols,  and  directed  them  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the 
gods  in  order  that  his  child  might  be  delivered  from 
her  tormentor.  The  demon,  however,  compelled  by 
Almighty  God,  declared  that  he  would  not  depart 
unless  driven  out  by  Magin,  the  Christian.  Paternal 
love  overcame  hatred  for  the  prisoner.  The  gov- 
ernor had  the  servant  of  God  relieved  of  his  chains, 
and  then  begged  him  to  have  pity  on  the  girl.  For- 
getting the  injuries  he  had  suffered,  Magin  com- 
manded the  evil  spirit  to  give  glory  to  his  Creator, 
and  in  the  Name  of  Jesus  Christ  to  go  out  from  the 
child,  in  order  that  the  people  might  recognize  the 
supreme  power  of  Christ.  The  demon  departed  im- 
mediately. 

We  should  suppose  that  at  sight  of  such  a  prodigy 
the  father  would  not  only  have  ceased  to  molest  the 
deliverer  of  his  daughter,  but  that  he  would  have 
thanked  and  rewarded  him.  Such  was  not  the  case. 


197 


The  obstinate  heathen,  probably  fearing  the  loss  of 
his  office,  in  spite  of  the  entreaties  of  his  more 
grateful  child,  again  committed  Magin  to  the  dun- 
geon with  orders  to  chain  him  and  to  starve  him 
into  submission.  The  Lord,  however,  repeated  the 
miracle  wrought  in  behalf  of  Peter,  the  prince  of 
the  apostles.  The  chains  dropped  from  the  hands 
and  feet  of  the  martyr,  and  the  doors  were  opened 
by  an  unseen  hand,  leaving  Magin  to  return  to  his 
beloved  mountain  cave. 

When  the  tyrant  was  told  that  the  prisoner  had 
escaped,  he  despatched  some  soldiers  to  search  for 
the  fugitive,  and  to  kill  him  wherever  they  might 
discover  him.  The  satellites  found  the  holy  man  at 
prayer.  Seizing  him  they  beat  him  cruelly,  dragged 
him  over  rocks  and  thorns,  and  then  beheaded  him 
on  the  26th  of  August,  about  the  beginning  of  the 
fourth  century.  Christians  reverently  buried  the 
body  of  the  martyr  on  the  spot  where  he  had  ob- 
tained the  crown  of  martyrdom.  As  soon  as  the  per- 
secutions against  the  Christians  had  ceased,  an  ora- 
tory or  chapel  was  erected  over  the  grave  which  is 
now  enclosed  in  the  parish  church  of  Rocamora  in 
the  Archdiocese  of  Tarragona.  Innumerable  mira- 
cles have  occurred  at  the  tomb  of  the  glorious  St. 
Magin. 


198 


B. 

MORNING    HYMN, 

As  sung  by  Fr.  Magin  Catala  and  his  Indians. 
(To  Pages  86  and  87.) 

1.  The  dawn  appears  and  ushers  in  the  day, 
Ave  Maria, — fondly  let  us  pray! 

2.  For  sinners'  consolation   wert   thou  born, — 
First  ray  of  hope  and  brilliant  star  of  morn. 

3.  Thy  birth,  O   Queen,  is   Heaven's  richest  boon, 
It  fills  the  earth  with  joy,  dispels  sin's  gloom. 

4.  The  cunning  serpent  writhes  and  coils  in  pains, 
Lest  it  do  harm,  thou  fetterest  it  with  chains. 

5.  At  sound  of  thy  sweet  name,  O  Virgin  chaste, 
Doth  tremble  hell  and  demons  fly  in  haste. 

6.  With  voices  glad  and  joyful  let  us  sing, 
A  hymn  to  Mary,  Mother  of  our  King! 


199 


C. 

EVENING    HYMN, 

As  sung  by  Fr.  Magin  Catala  and  the  Indians. 
(To  Pages  90  and  91.) 

1.  Hail  Mary,  blessed  of  God  and  full  of  grace, 
The  Lord  is  with  thee,  Purest  of  our  race! 

2.  Blest  art  thou,  Dove  of  purest,   spotless  white, 
Sole  woman,  never  touched  by  sin's  chill  blight! 

3.  With  one  voice  earth   and  heaven   thee  acclaim 
As    Queen, — God's    Mother, — Virgin    free    from 

stain! 

4.  So  shall  it  be! — Forever  sound  our  strain! 
With  one  voice  earth  and  heaven  thee  acclaim. 

(Then  followed  and  was  repeated  three  times:) 
Holy  God! 

Holy  and  strong  God! 
Holy  and  immortal  God! 
Deliver  us,  O  Lord! 
From  all  evil. 

(For  the  music  see  next  page.) 


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Table  of  Contents 


PART    I. 
LIFE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Page. 

California. — Discovery  of  Gold. — The  Missions 
and  Missionaries. — Fr.  Magin  Catala's  Birth, 
Baptism,  Parents. — Enters  the  Franciscan 
Order  11 

CHAPTER  II. 

Dearth  of  Missionaries. — Fr.  Magin  Goes  to 
America. — Vandalism  of  the  Liberal  Poli- 
ticians.— Chaplain  on  the  Nootka  Ship. — Ar- 
rives at  Monterey. — Reaches  Santa  Clara....  15 

CHAPTER    III. 

State  of  the  Missions. — Fr.  Magin's  Love  for 
His  Rules. — His  Mortification. — His  Illness. — 
Asks  to  be  Retired.— His  Zeal.— Local  Diffi- 
culties.— Dullness  of  the  Indians. — Statistics..  23 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Fr.  Magin's  Inner  Life. — Shadows  of  Mission 
Destruction. — The  Mexican  Government  De- 
mands Oath  of  Allegiance. — Fr.  Magin's  Re- 
ply.— His  Last  Years. — His  Precious  Death. — 
Grief  of  the  People. — Burial.- — Fr.  Jose 
Viader's  Entry  in  the  Records  of  Santa 
Clara  29 

CHAPTER    V. 

Fr.  Magin's  Fame  for  Sanctity. — Practices  of 
the  People. — Fr.  Magin's  Relics. — Opinion  of 
His  Superiors,  Fathers  Lasuen,  Sarria,  and 
Payeras. — Fr.  Jose  Viader's  Respect 36 


Page. 
CHAPTER   VI. 

Opening  of  Fr.  Magin's  Tomb. — Identification. 
— Archbishop  Alemany  Interested. — Petition 
of  the  Jesuit  Fathers. — Decision  of  the  Arch- 
bishop's Council. — Notary  and  Vice-Postula- 
tor  Appointed. — Archbishop  Alemany  the 
Moving  Spirit 40 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Members  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Court. — The 
Witnesses. — Demand  for  Corroborative  Evi- 
dence.— A  Life  of  Fr.  Magin. — Removal  of  Fr. 
Magin's  Remains. — The  New  Process  de  Non- 
Cultu. — The  Proceedings. — Ridiculous  Non- 
Catholic  Notions  About  the  Canonization  of 
Saints  .  48 


PART    II. 
VIRTUES. 

Introduction    59 

Theological  Virtues 61 

Faith    61 

Hope 75 

Charity    79 

1.  Love  of  God 79 

2.  Love  of  Neighbor 94 

Cardinal  Virtues 104 

1.  Prudence   104 

2.  Justice    109 

3.  Fortitude  Ill 

4.  Temperance    118 

Religious  Vows   127 

1.  Obedience   •  • 127 

2.  Poverty  129 

3.  Chastity  133 

Humility 136 


PART    III. 

MIRACLES  AND  PROPHECIES. 

Page. 

Introduction  143 

I.  Miracles  During  His  Lifetime: 

1.  Various   Miracles 145 

2.  Power  Over  the  Evil  Spirits 150 

3.  Prophecies    156 

4.  Visions  173 

5.  Bilocation    176 

II.  Miracles  After  His  Death..  181 


APPENDIX. 

Life  of  St.   Magin 195 

Ya  Viene  El  Alba— English  Translation 198 

Dios  Te  Salve  Maria — English  Translation 199 

Santo  Dios — Music  and  English  Translation. .  199-200 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

St.  Mary  Major,  the  Parish  Church  at  Mont- 
blanch,  Where  Fr.  Magin  Catala  Was  Bap- 
tized   Frontis-piece 

Guiding  Angel    10 

Fachada  of  St.  Mary  Major  at  Montblanch 13 

Inscription   on   Tomb   of   Fr.    Magin   Catala  at 

Santa  Clara  51 

Franciscan  Coat-of-Arms   58 

The  Famous  Crucifix  of  Santa  Clara 84 

Ya  Viene  el  Alba — Music 87 

Dios  Te  Salve  Maria — Music 91 

Santa    Clara    Mission    at    Fr.    Magin    Catala's 

Time  108 

Autograph  of  Fr.  Magin  Catala 138 

Jesuit  Coat-of-Arms    142 

Juan    Crisostomo    Galindo,   Fr.    Magin    Catala's 

Mayordomo    171 

Coat-of-Arms  of  the  Franciscan  Province  of  the 

Sp.cred  Heart    194 

Santo   Dios— Music    200 


A  BOOK  FOR  THE  LIBRARIES 


The  Missions  and  Missionaries 
of  California 

By  FR.  ZEPHYRIN  ENGELHARDT,  O.  F.  M. 

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and  three  maps,  654  pages.  Price,  cloth  binding, 
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Apply  to  the  author,  Boys'  Orphanage,  Watson- 
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Contents:  Lower  California.  Part  I — Early  Voy- 
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